6^.2.^.-2-1- 


3frnm  tl|^  SlthreirQ  of 

l^quFatti^b  by  l|tm  to 

tlj0  Etbrarg  of 

Prtnrrton  Sliwlngtral  ^rmtnarg 


BL  85  .M87  1872 
M  uller,  F.  Max  1823-1900 
Lectures  on  the  science  of 
religion 


■¥:--<. 


^^j 


LECTURES 

ON  THE  :  /  ^  U 

SCIENCE    OF   RELIGION; 


*  WITH   A   PAPER  ON 


BUDDHIST  NIHILISM, 


AND   A  TRANSLATION  OF  THE 


DHAMMAPADA   OR  ''PATH  OF  VmiUE." 


/      BY 

V  .. 
MAX  MULLER,  M.  A. 

FELLOW   OF   ALL-SAINTS'    COLLEGE,   OXFORD,    CORRESPONDANT   DE 

L'INSTITUT   DE    FRANCE,   AUTHOR   OF   "LECTURES   ON   THE 

SCIENCE   OF   LANGUAGK,"    "  CHIPS   FROM   A   GERMAN 

WORKSHOP,"   ETC. 


NEW    YORK: 
SCRIBNER,   ARMSTRONG,    AND    CO., 

SUCCESSORS    TO 

CHARLES   SCRIBNER  AND   CO. 

1872. 


RIVERSIDE,    CABrBRIDGE: 

STEREOTYPED    AND    PRINTED    BT 

H.   0.   HODGHTON    AND   COMPANY 


CONTENTS. 


♦— — 

PAGE 

LECTURES   ON  THE  SCIENCE   OF  RELIGION. 

First  Lecture 3 

Second  Lecture 29 

Third  Lecture 54 

Fourth  Lecture 100 

BUDDHIST  NIHILISM 131 

BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA,  OR  "PATH  OF  VIRTUE/' 

Introduction 151 

CHAPTER  L 

The  Twin-terses •  193 

CHAPTER  II. 

On  Reflection 200 

CHAPTER  III. 

Thought 203 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Flowers 207 

CHAPTER  V. 
The  Fool 211 

CHAPTER  VI. 
The  Wise  Man 215 

CHAPTER  VH. 
The  Venerable 219 

CHAPTER  Vni. 
The  Thousands 223 

CHAPTER  IX. 
Evil 227 

CHAPTER  X. 
Punishment 230 


W  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XL 
Old  Age 235 

CHAPTER  XII. 
Self 238 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
The  World 241 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
The  Awakened  (Buddha) 244 

CHAPTER  XV. 
Happiness 249 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
Pleasure 253 

CHAPTER  XVn. 
Anger 256 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
Impurity 259 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
The  Just 264 

CHAPTER  XX. 
The  Way ,       ...        268 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
Miscellaneous 272 

CHAPTER  XXII. 
The  Downward  Course ,        276 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 
The  Elephant 279 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 
Thirst 282 

CHAPTER  XXV. 
The  Bhikshu  (Mendicant) 288 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 
The  Brahmajva 293 


LECTURES   ON 
THE  SOIE]^CE  OF  EELIGIOJN". 

By  max  MULLER, 

PROFESSOR  OF  COMPARATIVE   PHTLOLOaY    IN  THE   UNIVERSITY  OF 
OXFORD,  ETC. 


FIEST  LECTURE. 

DELIVERED  AT  THE  ROYAL  INSTITUTION,  FEB.   19,  1870. 


TTTHEN  I  undertook  for  the  first  time  to  deliver  a 
"  *  course  of  lectures  in  this  Institution,  I  chose  for 
my  subject  the  Science  of  Language,  What  I  then 
had  at  heart  was  to  show  to  you,  and  to  the  world  at 
large,  that  the  comparative  study  of  the  principal  lan- 
guages of  mankind  was  based  on  principles  sound  and 
scientific,  and  that  it  had  brought  to  light  results  which 
deserved  a  larger  share  of  public  interest  than  they  had 
as  yet  received.  I  tried  to  convince,  not  only  scholars 
by  profession,  but  historians,  theologians,  and  philoso- 
phers, nay  everybody  who  had  once  felt  the  charm  of 
gazing  inwardly  upon  the  secret  workings  of  his  own 
mind,  veiled  and  revealed  as  they  are  in  the  flowino- 
forms  of  language,  that  the  discoveries  made  by  com- 
parative philologists  could  no  longer  be  ignored  with 
impunity;  and  I  submitted  that  after  the  progress 
achieved  in  a  scientific  study  of  the  principal  branches 
of  the  vast  realm  of  human  speech,  our  new  science, 
the  Science  of  Language,  might  claim  by  right  its  seat 
at  the  round-table  of  the  intellectual  chivalry  of  our 
age- 
Such  was  the  goodness  of  the  cause  I  had  then  to 
defend,  that,  however  imperfect  my  own  pleading,  the 
verdict  of  the  public  has  been  immediate  and  almost 


4  THE   SCIENCE   OF    RELIGION. 

unanimous.  During  the  years  that  have  elapsed  since 
the  delivery  of  my  first  course  of  lectures,  the  Science 
of  Language  has  had  its  full  share  of  public  recognition. 
Whether  we  look  at  the  number  of  books  that  have 
been  published  for  the  advancement  and  elucidation  of 
our  science,  or  at  the  excellent  articles  in  the  daily, 
weekly,  fortnightly,  monthly,  or  quarterly  reviews,  or 
at  the  frequent  notices  of  its  results  scattered  about  in 
works  on  philosophy,  theology,  and  ancient  history, 
we  may  well  rest  satisfied.  The  example  set  by 
France  and  Germany,  in  founding  chairs  of  Sanskrit 
and  Comparative  Philology,  has  been  followed  of  late 
in  nearly  all  the  universities  of  England,  Ireland,  and 
Scotland.  We  need  not  fear  for  the  future  of  the  Sci- 
ence of  Language.  A  career  so  auspiciously  begun, 
in  sj)ite  of  strong  prejudices  that  had  to  be  encountered, 
will  lead  on  from  year  to  year  to  greater  triumphs. 
Our  best  public  schools,  if  they  have  not  d(me  so  al- 
ready, will  soon  have  to  follow  the  example  set  by  the 
universities.  It  is  but  fair  that  school-boys  who  are 
made  to  devote  so  many  hours  every  day  to  the  labo- 
rious acquisition  of  languages,  should  now  and  then  be 
taken  by  a  safe  guide  to  enjoy  from  a  higher  point  of 
view  that  living  panorama  of  human  speech  which  has 
been  surveyed  and  carefully  mapped  out  by  patient 
explorers  and  bold  discoverers:  nor  is  there  any  longer 
an  excuse  why,  even  in  the  most  elementaiy  lessons, 
nay  I  should  say,  why  more  particularly  in  these  ele- 
mentary lessons,  the  dark  and  dreary  passages  of  Greek 
and  Latin,  of  French  and  German  grammar,  should 
not  be  lighted  up  by  the  electric  light  of  Comparative 
Philology.  When  last  year  I  travelled  in  Germany  I 
found  that  lectures  on  Comparative  Philology  are  now 
attended  in  the  universities  by  all  who  study  Greek 


FIE  ST   LECTURE.  6 

and  Latin.  At  Leipzig  alone  the  lectures  of  the  pro- 
fessor of  Sanskrit  were  attended  by  more  thiin  fifty 
under-graduates,  who  first  acquire  that  amount  of 
knowledge  of  Sanskrit  which  is  absolutely  necessary 
before  entering  upon  a  study  of  Comparative  Gram- 
mar. The  introduction  of  Greek  into  the  universities 
of  Europe  in  the  fifteenth  century  could  hardly  have 
caused  a  greater  revolution  than  the  discovery  of  San- 
skrit and  the  study  of  Comparative  Philology  in  the 
nineteenth  century.  Very  few  indeed  now  take  their 
degree  of  Master  of  Arts  in  Germany,  or  would  be 
allowed  to  teach  at  a  public  school,  without  having 
been  examined  in  the  principles  of  Comparative  Philol- 
ogy, nay  in  the  elements  of  Sanskrit  Grammar.  Why 
should  it  be  different  in  England?  The  intellectual 
fibre,  I  know,  is  not  different  in  the  youth  of  England 
and  in  the  youth  of  Germany,  and  if  there  is  but  a  fair 
field  and  no  favor.  Comparative  Philology,  I  feel  con- 
vinced, will  soon  hold  in  England,  too,  that  place  which 
it  ought  to  hold  at  every  public  school,  in  every  uni- 
versity, and  in  every  classical  examination. 

In  beginning  to-day  a  course  of  lectures  on  the  Sci- 
ence of  Religion^  —  or  I  should  rather  say  on  some  pre- 
hminary  points  that  have  to  be  settled  before  we  can 
enter  upon  a  truly  vscientitic  study  of  the  religions  of 
the  w^orl'l,  —  I  feel  as  I  felt  when  first  pleading  in  this 
very  place  for  the  Science  of  Language. 

I  know  that  I  shall  have  to  meet  determined  antas- 
onists  who  will  deny  tiie  possibility  of  a  scientific  treat- 
ment of  religions  as  they  denied  the  possibility  of  a 
scientific  treatment  of  languages.  I  foresee  even  a  far 
more  serious  conflict  with  fatniliar  prejudices  and  deep- 
rooted  convictions  ;  but  I  feel  at  the  same  time  that  I 
am  prepared  to  meet  my  antagonists;  and  I  have  such 


6  THE   SCIENCE   OF   KELIGION. 

faitli  in  their  honesty  of  purpose,  that  I  doubt  not  of  a 
patient  and  impartial  hearing  on  their  part,  and  of  a 
verdict  influenced  by  nothing  but  by  the  evidence  that 
I  shall  have  to  place  before  them. 

In  these  our  days  it  is  almost  impossible  to  speak  of 
religion  without  giving  offense  eitlier  on  tlie  right  or  on 
the  left.  With  some,  religion  seems  too  sacred  a  sub- 
ject for  scientific  treatment :  with  others  it  stands  on  a 
level  with  alchemy  and  astrology,  a  mere  tissue  of 
errors  or  hallucinations,  far  beneath  the  notice  of  the 
man  of  science.  In  a  certain  sense,  I  accept  both  these 
views.  Religion  is  a  sacred  subject,  and  whether  in 
its  most  perfect  or  in  its  most  imperfect  form,  it  has  a 
right  to  our  highest  reverence.  No  one  —  this  I  can 
promise  —  who  attends  these  lectures,  be  he  Christian 
or  Jew,  Hindu  or  Mohammedan,  shall  hear  his  own  way 
of  serving  God  spoken  of  irreverently.  But  true  rev- 
erence does  not  consist  in  declaring  a  subject,  because 
it  is  dear  to  us,  to  be  unfit  for  free  and  honest  inquiry  ; 
far  from  it !  True  reverence  is  shown  in  treating  every 
subject,  however  sacred,  however  dear  to  us,  with  per- 
fect confidence  ;  without  fear  and  without  favor  ;  with 
tenderness  and  love,  by  all  me*ins,  but,  before  all,  with 
an  unflinching  and  uncompromising  loyalty  to  truth. 
I  also  admit  that  religion  has  stood  in  former  ages,  and 
stands  even  in  our  own  age,  if  we  look  abroad,  aye, 
even  if  we  look  into  some  dark  places  at  home,  on  a 
level  with  alchemy  and  astrology;  but  for  the  dis- 
covery of  truth  there  is  nothing  so  useful  as  the  study 
of  errors,  and  we  know  that  in  alchemy  there  lay  the 
seed  of  chemistry,  and  that  astrology  was  more  or  less 
a  yearning  and  groping  after  the  true  science  of  as- 
tronomy. 

But  although  I  shall  be  most  careful  to  avoid  giving 


FIRST    LECTURE.  7 

offense,  I  know  perfectly  well  that  many  a  statement 
I  shall  have  to  make,  and  many  an  opinion  I  shall  have 
to  express,  will  sound  strange  and  startling  to  some  of 
my  hearers.  The  very  title  of  the  Science  of  Religion 
jars  on  the  ears  of  many  persons,  and  a  comparison  of 
all  tlie  religions  of  the  world,  in  which  none  can  claim 
a  privileged  position,  must  seem  to  many  reprehensible 
in  itself,  because  ignoring  that  peculiar  reverence  which 
everybody,  down  to  the  mere  fetich  worshipper,  feels 
for  his  own  religion  and  for  his  own  God.  Let  me  say 
then  at  once  that  I  myself  have  shared  these  mismv- 
ings,  but  tliat  I  have  tried  to  overcome  them,  because 
T  would  not  and  could  not  allow  myself  to  surrender 
either  what  I  hold  to  be  the  truth,  or  what  I  hold  still 
dearer  than  the  truth,  the  right  tests  of  truth.  Nor  do 
I  regret  it.  I  do  not  say  that  the  Science  of  Religion 
is  all  gain.  No ;  it  entails  losses,  and  losses  of  many 
things  which  we  hold  dear.  Bat  this  I  will  say,  that, 
as  far  as  my  humble  judgment  goes,  it  does  not  entail 
the  loss  of  anything  that  is  essential  to  true  religion, 
and  that  if  we  strike  the  balance  honestly,  the  gain  is 
immeasurably  greater  than  the  loss. 

One  of  the  first  questions  that  was  asked  by  classical 
scholars  when  invited  to  consider  the  value  of  the  Sci- 
ence of  Language,  was,  "  What  shall  we  gain  by  a  com- 
parative study  of  languages?"  Languages,  it  was  said, 
are  wanted  for  practical  purposes,  for  speaking  and 
reading  ;  and  by  studying  too  many  languages  at  once, 
we  run  the  risk  of  losing  the  firm  grasp  which  we 
ought  to  have  on  the  few  that  are  really  important. 
Our  knowledge,  by  becoming  wider,  must  needs,  it 
was  thought,  become  shallower,  and  the  gain,  if  there 
is  any,  in  knowing  the  structure  of  dialects  which  have 
never  produced  any  literature  at  all,  would  certainly 


8  THE   SCIENCE   OF  RELIGION. 

be  outweiglied  by  the  loss  in  accurate  and  practical 
scholarship. 

If  this  could  be  said  of  a  comparative  study  of  lan- 
guages, with  liow  much  greater  force  will  it  be  urged 
against  a  comparative  study  of  religions  !  Though  I 
do  not  expect  that  those  who  study  the  religious  books 
of  Brahmans  and  Buddhists,  of  Confucius  and  Lao-tse, 
of  Mohammed  and  Nanak,  will  be  accused  of  cherish- 
incr  in  their  secret  heart  the  doctrines  of  those  ancient 
masters,  or  of  having  lost  the  firm  hold  on  their  own 
religious  convictions,  yet  I  doubt  whether  the  practical 
utility  of  wider  studies  in  the  vast  field  of  the  religions 
of  the  world  will  be  admitted  with  greater  readiness 
by  professed  theologians  than  the  value  of  a  knowledge 
of  Sanskrit,  Zend,  Gothic,  or  Celtic  for  a  thorough 
mastery  of  Greek  and  Latin,  and  for  a  real  apprecia- 
tion of  the  nature,  the  purpose,  the  laws,  the  growth 
and  decay  of  language  was  admitted,  or  is  even  now 
admitted,  by  some  of  our  most  eminent  professors  and 
teachers. 

People  ask.  What  is  gained  by  comparison?  Why, 
all  higher  knowledge  is  gained  by  comparison,  and  rests 
on  comparison.  If  it  is  said  that  the  character  of  scien- 
tific research  in  our  age  is  preeminently  comparative  ; 
this  really  means  that  our  researches  are  now  based  on 
the  widest  evidence  that  can  be  obtained,  on  the  broad- 
est inductions  that  can  be  grasped  by  the  human  mind. 
What  can  be  gained  by  comparison  ?  Why,  look  at 
the  study  of  languages.  If  you  go  back  but  a  hun- 
dred years  and  examine  the  folios  of  the  most  learned 
writers  upon  questions  connected  with  language,  and 
then  open  a  book  written  by  the  merest  tyro  in  Com- 
parative Philology,  you  will  see  what  can  be  gained, 
what   has  been  gained,  by  the   comparative  method. 


FIRST   LECTURE. 


9 


A  few  hundred  years  aoro,  the  idea  that  Hebrew  was 
the   original   language  of  mankind  was  accepted  as  a 
matter  of  course,  even  as  a  matter  of  faith,  tlie  only 
problem  being  to  find  out  by  what  process  Greek,  or 
Latin,  or  any  other  language  could  have  b^en   devel- 
oped out   (/Hebrew.     The    idea,  too,  that  language 
was  revealed,  in  the  scliolastic  sense  of  that  word,  was 
generally  accepted,  although,  as  early  as   the  fourth 
centuryi  St.   Gregory,   the    learned   Bishop  of  Nvssa, 
had  strongly   ])rotest'ed  against  it.     The  grammaticai 
frame-work' of  a  language  was  either  considered  as  the 
result  of  a  conventional  agreement,  or  the  terminations 
of  nouns  and  verbs  were   supposed   to  have   sprouted 
forth  like  buds  from  the  roots  and  stems  of  langruasre ; 
and  the  vaguest  similarity  in  the  sound  and  meaning 
of  words  w^s  taken  to  be  a  sufficient  criterion  for  test- 
ing  their   origin    and    their   relationship.     Of  all   this 
philological   somnambulism  we  hardly  find  a  trace  in 
works  ^)ublished  since   the   days   of  Humboldt,  Bopp, 
and  Grimm.     Has  tbere  been  any  loss  here  ?     Has  it 
not  been  pure  gain  ?     Does  language  excite  admiration 
less  b'  cause  we  know  that,  though  the  faculty  of  speak- 
ing is  the  work  of  Him  who  has  so  framed  our  nature, 
the  invention  of  words  for  naming  each  object  was  left 
to  man,  and  was  achieved  througii   the  working  of  the 
human   mind  ?     Is   Hebrew  less  carefully  studied  be- 
cause it  is  no  longer  believed  to  be  a  revealed  language 
sent  down  from  heaven,  but  a  language  closely  allied 
to  Arabic,  Syriac,  and  ancient  Babylonian,  and  receiv- 
ing  light    from   these   cognate,  and  in  some    respects 
more  primitive  languages,  for  the  explanation  of  many 
of  its  grammatical  forms,  and  for  the  exact  interpreta- 
tion of  many  of  its  obscure  and  difficult  words  ?    Is  the 
grammatical  articulation  of  Greek  and   Latin   less  in- 


10  THE  SCIENCE   OF  RELIGION. 

structive  because,  instead  of  seeing  in  the  termination 
of  nouns  and  verbs  merely  arbitrary  signs  to  distin- 
guish the  singular  from  the  plural,  or  the  present  from 
the  future,  we  can  now  perceive  an  intelligible  princi- 
ple in  the  gradual  production  of  formal  out  of  the  ma- 
terial elements  of  language  ?  And  are  our  etymolo- 
gies less  important  because,  instead  of  being  suggested 
by  superficial  similarities,  they  are  now  based  on  honest 
historical  and  physiological  research  ?  Lastly,  has  our 
own  language  ceased  to  hold  its  own  peculiar  place  ? 
Is  our  love  for  our  own  native  tongue  at  all  impaired  ? 
Do  men  speak  less  boldly  or  pray  less  fervently  in  their 
owni  mother-tongue,  because  they  know  its  true  origin 
and  its  unadorned  history  ;  or  because  they  have  dis- 
covered that  in  all  languages,  even  in  the  jargons  of 
the  lowest  savages,  there  is  order  and  wisdom  ;  there 
is  in  them  something  that  makes  the  world  akin  ? 

Why,  then,  should  we  hesitate  to  apply  the  compar- 
ative method,  which  has  produced  such  great  results 
in  other  spheres  of  knowledge,  to  a  study  of  religion? 
That  it  will  change  many  of  the  views  commonly  held 
about  the  origin,  the  character,  the  growth,  and  decay 
of  the  religions  of  the  world,  I  do  not  deny ;  but  un- 
less we  hold  that  fearless  progression  in  new  inquiries, 
which  is  our  bounden  duty  and  our  honest  pride  in  all 
other  branches  of  knowledge,  is  dangerous  in  the  study 
of  religions,  unless  we  allow  ourselves  to  be  frightened 
by  the  once  famous  dictum,  that  whatever  is  new  in 
theology  is  false,  this  ought  to  be  the  very  reason  why 
a  comparative  study  of  religions  should  no  longer  be 
neglected  or  delayed. 

When  the  students  of  Comparative  Philology  boldly 
adopted  Goethe's  paradox,  "  He  who  knows  one  lan- 
guage^ knows  none;  "  people  were  startled  at  first,  but 


FIRST   LECTURE.  11 

they  soon  began  to  feel  the  truth  which  was  hidden 
beneath  the  paradox.  Could  Goethe  have  ineaut  that 
Homer  did  not  know  Greek,  or  that  Shakespeare  did 
not  know  English,  because  neither  of  them  knew  more 
than  his  own  motiier-tongue  ?  No  !  what  was  meant 
was  that  neither  Homer  nor  Shakespeare  knew  what 
that  language  really  was  which  he  handled  with  so 
much  power  and  cunning.  Unfortunately  the  old 
verb  ''  to  can,"  from  which  "  canny"  and  '' cunning," 
is  lost  in  Eno-lish,  otherwise  we  should  be  able  in  two 
words  to  express  our  meaning,  and  to  keep  apart  the 
two  kinds  of  knowledge  of  which  we  are  here  speak- 
ino;.  As  we  Jray  in  German  konnen  is  not  kennen^  we 
might  say  in  English  to  can^  that  is  to  be  cunning,  is 
not  to  ken^  that  is  to  know  ;  and  it  would  then  become 
clear  at  once,  that  the  most  eloquent  speaker  and  the 
most  gifted  poet,  with  all  their  command  of  words  and 
skillful  mastery  of  expression,  would  have  but  little  to 
say  if  asked  what  language  really  is !  The  same  ap- 
plies to  religion.  lie  who  knows  one^  knoivs  none. 
There  are  thousands  of  people  whose  faith  is  such  that 
it  could  move  mountains,  and  who  yet,  if  they  were 
asked  what  religion  really  is,  would  remain  silent,  or 
would  speak  of  outward  tokens  rather  than  of  the  in- 
ward nature,  or  of  the  faculty  of  faith. 

It  will  easily  be  perceived  that  religion  means  at 
least  two  very  different  things.  When  we  speak  of 
the  Jewish,  or  the  Christian,  or  the  Hindu  religion, 
we  mean  a  body  of  doctrines  handed  down  by  tradi- 
tion, or  in  canonical  books,  and  containing  all  that  con- 
stitutes the  faith  of  Jew,  Christian,  or  Hindu.  Using 
religion  in  that  sense,  we  may  say  that  a  man  has 
changed  his  religion,  that  is,  that  he  has  adopted  the 
Christian  instead  of  the  Brahmanical  body  of  religious 


12  THE   SCIENCE   OF   RELIGION. 

doctrines,  jnst  as  a  man  may  learn  to  speak  English 
instead  of  Hindustani,  But  religion  is  also  used  in  a 
different  sense.  As  there  is  a  faculty  of  speech,  inde- 
pendent of  all  the  historical  forms  of  language,  so  we 
may  speak  of  a  faculty  of  faith  in  man,  independent 
of  all  historical  religions.  If  we  say  that  it  is  religion 
which  distinguishes  man  from  the  animal,  we  do  not 
mean  the  Christian  or  Jewish  religions  only  ;  we  do 
not  mean  any  special  religion,  but  we  mean  a  mental 
faculty,  that  faculty  which,  independent  of,  nay  in 
spite  of  sense  and  reason,  enables  man  to  apprehend 
the  Infinite  under  varying  disguises.  Without  that 
faculty,  no  religion,  not  even  the  lowest  worship  of 
idols  and  fetiches,  would  be  possible  ;  and  if  we  will 
but  listen  attentively,  we  can  hear  in  all  religions  a 
groaning  of  the  spirit,  a  struggle  to  conceive  the  in- 
conceivable, to  utter  the  unutterable,  a  longing  after 
the  Infinite,  a  love  of  God.  Whether  the  etymology 
which  the  ancients  gave  of  the  Greek  word  auBpwTro^, 
man,  be  time  or  not  (they  derived  it  from  6  ai/w  aOpCjv, 
he  who  looks  upward)  :  certain  it  is  that  what  makes 
man  to  be  man,  is  that  he  alone  can  turn  his  face  to 
heaven  •;  certain  it  is  that  he  alone  yearns  for  some- 
thing that  neither  sense  nor  reason  can  supj)ly. 

If  then  there  is  a  philosophical  discij)line  which  ex- 
amines into  the  conditions  of  sensuous  perception,  and 
if  there  is  another  philosophical  discipline  which  ex- 
amines into  the  conditions  of  rational  conception,  there 
is  clearly  a  place  for  a  third  philosophical  discipline 
that  has  to  examine  into  the  conditions  of  that  third 
faculty  of  man,  coordinate  with  sense  and  reason,  the 
faculty  of  perceiving  the  Infinite,  which  is  at  the  root 
of  all  religions.  In  German  we  can  distinguish  that 
third  faculty  by  the  name  of  Vernuft,  as  opposed  to 


FIRST   LECTURE.  13 

Verstand,  reason,  and  Sinne^  sense.  In  English  I 
know  no  better  name  for  it  than  the  faculty  of  faith, 
though  it  will  have  to  be  guarded  by  careful  definition, 
and  to  be  restricted  to  those  objects  only,  which  cannot 
be  supplied  either  by  the  evidence  of  the  senses,  or  by 
the  evidence  of  reason.  No  simply  historical  fact  can 
ever  fall  under  the  cognizance  of  faith. 

If  we  look  at  the  history  of  modern  thought,  we 
find  that  the  dominant  school  of  philosophy,  previous 
to  Kant,  had  reduced  all  intellectual  activity  to  one 
faculty,  that  of  the  senses.  *'  Nihil  in  intellectu  quod 
non  ante  fuerit  in  sensu,"  "  Nothing  exists  in  the  in- 
tellect but  what  has  before  existed  in  the  senses,"  was 
their  watch-word  ;  and  Leibnitz  answered  it  epigram- 
matically,  but  most  profoundly,  *' Nihil  —  nisi  intel- 
lectus."  "  Yes,  nothing  but  the  intellect."  Then 
followed  Kant,  who,  in  his  great  work  written  ninety 
years  ago,  but  not  yet  antiquated,  proved  that  our 
knowledge  requires  the  admission  of  two  independent 
faculties,  the  intuitions  of  the  senses,  and  the  cate- 
gories, or,  as  we  might  call  them,  the  necessities  of 
reason.  But  satisfied  with  having  established  the  in- 
dependent faculty  of  reason,  as  coordinate  with  the 
faculty  of  sense,  or,  to  use  his  own  technical  language, 
satisfied  with  having  proved  the  possibility  of  apodictic 
jud<iments  a  priori^  Kant  declined  to  go  further,  and 
denied  to  the  intellect  the  power  of  transcending  the 
finite,  the  faculty  of  approaching  the  Divine.  He 
closed  the  ancient  gates  through  which  man  had  gazed 
into  Infinity,  but,  in  spite  of  himself,  he  was  driven,  in 
his  *'  Critique  of  Practical  Reason,"  to  open  a  side-door 
through  which  to  admit  the  sense  of  the  Divine.  This 
is  the  vulnerable  point  in  Kant's  philosophy,  and  if 
philosophy  has  to  explain  what  is,  not  what  ought  to 


14  THE   SCIENCE    OF   RELIGION. 

be,  there  will  be  and  can  be  no  rest  till  we  admit, 
what  cannot  be  denied,  that  there  is  in  man  a  third 
faculty,  which  I  call  simply  the  fciculty  of  apprehend- 
ing the  Infinite,  not  only  in  religion,  but  in  all  things  ; 
a  power  independent  of  sense  and  reason,  a  power  in 
a  certain  sense  contradicted  by  sense  and  reason,  but 
yet,  I  suppose,  a  very  real  power,  if  we  see  how  it 
has  held  its  own  from  the  beo-innino;  of  the  world,  how 
neitlier  sense  nor  reason  have  been  able  to  overcome 
it,  while  it  alone  is  able  to  overcome  both  reason  and 
sense. 

Accordincr  to  the  two  meaninors  of  the  word  relig:- 
ion,  then,  the  science  of  religion  is  divided  into  two 
parts ;  the  former,  which  has  to  deal  with  the  histori- 
cal forms  of  religion,  is  called  Comparative  theology ; 
the  latter,  which  has  to  explain  the  conditions  under 
which  religion,  in  its  highest  or  lowest  form,  is  possi- 
ble, is  called  Theoretic  theology. 

We  shall  at  present  have  to  deal  with  the  former 
only  ;  nay,  it  will  be  my  object  to  show  that  the  prob- 
lems which  chiefly  occupy  theoretic  theology,  ought 
not  to  be  taken  up  till  all  the  evidence  that  can  possi- 
bly be  gained  from  a  comparative  study  of  the  relig- 
ions of  the  world  has  been  fully  collected,  classified, 
and  analyzed. 

It  may  seem  strange  that  while  theoretical  theology, 
or  the  analysis  of  the  inward  and  outward  conditions 
under  which  faith  is  possible,  has  occupied  so  many 
thinkers,  the  study  of  comparative  theology  has  never 
as  yet  been  seriously  taken  in  hand.  But  the  expla- 
nation is  very  simple.  The  materials  on  which  alone 
a  comparative  study  of  the  religions  of  mankind  could 
have  been  founded  were  not  accessible  in  former  davs, 
while  in  our  own  days  they  have  come  to  light  in  such 


FIRST   LECTURE.  15 

profusion  as  almost  to  challenge  these  more  compre- 
hensive inquiries  in  a  voice  that  cannot  be  disobeyed. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  Emperor  Akbar  had  a  pas- 
sion for  the  study  of  reliorions,  so  that  he  invited  to  his 
court  Jews,  Christians,  Mohammedans,  Brahmans,  and 
Fire -worshippers,   and  had  as   many   of   their    sacred 
books  as  he  could  get  access  to,  translated  for  his  own 
study.     Yet,  how  small   was  the  collection  of  sacred 
books  that  even  an  emperor  of  India  could  command 
not   more  than   two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  com- 
pared to  what  may  now  be  found  in  the  library  of 
every  poor  scholar!     We  have  the  original  text  of  the 
Veda,  which  neither  the  bribes  nor  the  threats  of  Ak- 
bar could  extort  from  the  Brahmans.     The  translation 
of  the  Veda  which  he  is  said  to  have  obtained,  was  a 
translation  of    the  so-called  Atharva-veda,  and   com- 
prised most  likely  the  Upanishads  only,  mystic  and  phi- 
losophical treatises,  very  interesting,  very  important  in 
themselves,  but  as  far  removed  from  the  ancient  poetry 
of  the  Veda  as  the  Talmud  is  from  the  Old  Testament, 
as    Sufiism  is  from  the  Koran.     We  have  the  Zend- 
avesta,  the  sacred  writings  of  the  so-called  fire- worship- 
pers, and   we    possess    the  translation  of  it,  far   more 
complete  and  far  more  correct  than  any  that  the  Em- 
peror Akbar   could  have    obtained.     The  religion  of 
Buddha,  certainly  in   many  respects  more    important 
than  either  Brahmanism,  or  Zoroastrianism,  or  Moham- 
medanism, is  never  mentioned  in  the  religious  discus- 
sions that  took  place  one  evening  in  every  week  at  the 
imperial  court  of  Delhi.     Abufazl,  it  is  said,  the  minis- 
ter of  Akbar,  could  find  no  one  to  assist  him  in  his  in- 
quiries respecting  Buddhism.     We  possess  the  whole 
sacred  canon  of  the  Buddhists  in  various  lanpuages,  in 
Pali,  in  Sanskrit,  in  Burmese,  Siamese,  Tibetan,  Mon- 


16  THE   SCIENCE   OF  RELIGION. 

golian,  and  Chinese,  and  it  is  our  fault  entirely,  if  as 
yet  there  is  no  complete  translation  in  any  European 
tongue  of  this  important  collection  of  sacred  books. 
The  ancient  relio-ions  of  Cliina  acrain,  that  of  Confu- 
cius  and  tliat  of  Laotse,  may  now  be  studied  in  excel- 
lent translations  of  their  sacred  books  by  anybody  in- 
terested in  the  ancient  faith  of  mankind. 

But  this  is  not  all.  We  owe  to  missionaries  particu- 
larly, careful  accounts  of  the  religious  belief  and  wor- 
ship among  tribes  far  lower  in  the  scale  of  civilization 
than  the  poets  of  the  Vedic  hymns,  or  the  followers  of 
Confufius.  Though  the  belief  of  African  and  Mela- 
nesian  savages  is  more  recent  in  point  of  time,  it  repre- 
sents an  earlier  and  far  more  ])rimitive  phase  in  point 
of  growth,  and  is  therefore  as  instructive  to  the  student 
of  rehgion  as  the  study  of  uncultivated  dialects  has 
proved  to  the  student  of  language. 

Lastly,  and  this,  I  believe,  is  the  most  important 
advantage  which  we  enjoy  as  students  of  the  history 
of  religion,  we  have  been  taught  the  rules  of  crit- 
ical scholarship.  No  one  would  venture  nowadays,  to 
quote  from  any  book,  whether  sacred  or  profane,  with- 
out having  asked  these  simple  and  yet  momentous 
questions :  When  was  it  written  ?  Where  ?  and  by 
whom  ?  Was  the  author  an  eye-witness,  or  does  he 
only  relate  what  he  has  heard  from  others?  And  if 
the  latter,  were  his  authorities  at  least  contemporane- 
ous with  the  events  which  they  relate,  and  were  they 
under  the  sway.of  party  feeling  or  any  other  disturbing 
influence  ?  Was  the  whole  book  written  at  once,  or 
does  it  contain  portions  of  an  earlier  date  ;  and  if  so, 
is  it  possible  for  us  to  separate  these  earlier  documents 
from  the  body  of  the  book  ? 

A  study  of  the  original  documents  on   which  the 


FIRST   LECTURE.  17 

principal  religions  of  the  world  profess  to  be  founded, 
carried  out  in  this  spirit,  has  enabled  some  of  our  best 
livino;  scholai's  to  distiniiuish  in  each  reliojion  between 
what  is  really  ancient  and  what  is  comparatively  mod- 
ern ;  wliat  was  the  doctritie  of  the  founders  and  their 
immediate  disciples,  and  what  were  the  aftei  thoughts 
and,  orenerally,  the  corruptions  of  later  ages.  A  study 
of  these  later  developments,  of  these  later  con'u])tions, 
or,  it  may  be,  im])rovements,  is  not  without  its  own  pe- 
culiar charms,  and  full  of  practical  lessons;  yet,  as  it 
is  essentid  that  we  should  know  the  most  ancient  forms 
of  every  language,  before  we  proceed  to  any  compari- 
sons, it  is  indispensable  that  we  should  have  a  clear 
conception  oF  the  most  primitive  form  of  every  religion 
before  we  })roceed  to  determine  its  own  value,  and  to 
compare  it  wiih  other  forms  of  religious  faith.  Many 
an  orthodox  Mohammechm,  for  instance,  will  relate 
miracles  wi-ought  by  Mohannned  ;  but  in  the  Koran 
Mohammed  says  distinctly,  that  he  is  a  man  like  other 
men.  He  disdains  to  work  miracles,  and  a]>))eals  to 
the  crreat  woi-ks  of  Allah,  the  risino;  and  setting  of  the 
sun,  the  rain  that  fiuctihes  tlie  earth,  the  plants  that 
grow,  and  the  living  souls  that  are  born  into  the  world, 
—  who  can  tell  whence  ?  —  as  the  real  signs  ami  won- 
ders in  the  eyes  of  a  true  believer. 

The  Buddhist  legends  teem  with  miserable  miracles 
attributed  to  Buddha  and  his  disciples  —  miracles  which 
in  wonderfulness  certainly  surpass  the  miracles  of  any 
other  religitm  :  yet  in  their  own  sacred  canon  a  saying 
of  Buddha's  is  recorded,  prohibiting  his  disciples  from 
working  miracles,  though  challenged  by  the  multi- 
tudes who  required  a  sign  that  they  might  believe. 
And  what  is  the  miracle  that  Buddha  commands  his 
disciples  to  perform  ?      "  Hide  your  good  deeds,"  he 


18  THE   SCIENCE   OF   RELIGION. 

says,  "  and  confess  before  the  world  the  sins  you  have 
committed." 

Modem  Hinduism  rests  on  the  system  of  caste  as 
on  a  rock  which  no  arguments  can  shake  ;  but  in  tlie 
Veda,  the  highest  authority  of  the  rehgious  behef  of 
the  Hindus,  no  mention  occurs  of  the  compHcated  sys- 
tem of  castes,  sucli  as  we  find  it  in  Manu :  nay,  in  one 
place,  where  the  ordinary  classes  of  the  Indian,  or  any 
other  society,  are  alluded  to,  namely,  the  priests,  the 
warriors,  the  citizens,  and  the  slaves,  all  are  represented 
as  sprung  alike  from  Brahman,  the  source  of  all  being. 

It  would  be  too  much  to  say  that  the  critical  sifting 
of  the  authorities  for  a  study  of  each  religion  has  been 
already  fully  carried  out.  There  is  work  enough  still 
to  be  done.  But  a  beginning,  and  a  very  successful 
beo;innincx,  has  been  made,  and  the  results  thus  brouorht 
to  light  will  serve  as  a  wholesome  caution  to  everybody 
who  is  eno-aged  in  relimous  researches.  Thus,  if  we 
study  the  primitive  religion  of  the  Veda,  we  have  to 
distinguish  most  carefully,  not  only  between  the  hymns 
of  the  Rig-veda  on  one  side,  and  the  hymns  collected 
in  the  Sama-veda,  Ya^ur-veda,  and  Atharva-veda  on 
the  other,  but  critical  scholars  would  distinguish  with 
equal  care  between  the  more  ancient  and  the  more 
modern  hymns  of  the  Rlg-veda,  as  far  as  even  the 
faintest  indications  of  language,  of  grammar,  or  metre 
enable  them  to  do  so. 

In  order  to  2;ain  a  clear  insio-ht  into  the  motives  and 
impulses  of  the  founder  of  the  worship  of  Ahura- 
mazda,  we  must  chiefly,  if  not  entirely,  depend  on 
those  portions  of  the  Zendavesta  which  are  written  in 
the  Gatha  dialect,  a  more  primitive  dialect  than  that  of 
the  rest  of  the  sacred  code  of  the  Zoroastrians. 

In  order  to  do  justice  to  Buddha,  we  must  not  mix 


FIRST    LECTURE.  19 

the  pracncal  porrions  of  the  Tripi^aka,  the  Dliarma, 
with  the  metaphysical  poi-tioiis,  the  Abhidharma.  Both, 
it  is  true,  belono;  to  tiie  sacred  canon  of"  tlie  Buddhists  ; 
but  tlieir  original  sources  lie  in  very  different  latitudes 
of  relitrious  thought. 

We  have  in  the  history  of  Buddliism  an  excellent 
Oj)portunity  for  watching  the  process  by  which  a  canon 
of  sacred  books  is  called  into  existence.  We  see  here, 
as  elsewhere,  that  during  the  life-time  of  the  teacher,  no 
record  of  events,  no  sacred  code  containing  the  sayings 
of  the  master  was  wanted.  His  presence  was  enough, 
and  thoughts  of  the  future,  and  more  particularly  of 
future  greatness,  seldom  entered  the  minds  of  those 
who  followed  him.  It  was  only  after  Buddha  had  left 
the  woi-ld  to  enter  into  Nirvana,  that  his  disciples  at- 
tem|)ted  to  recall  the  sayings  and  doings  of  their  de- 
parted friend  and  master.  At  that  time  everything 
that  seemed  to  redound  to  the  gloiy  of  Buddha,  how- 
ever extraordinary  and  incredible,  was  eagerly  wel- 
comed, while  witnesses  who  would  have  ventui'ed  to 
criticise  or  reject  unsupj)()rted  statements,  or  to  detract 
in  any  way  from  the  holy  character  of  Buddha,  had  no 
chance  of  even  being  listened  to.  And  when,  in  spite 
of  all  this,  differences  of  opinion  arose,  they  were  not 
brought  to  the  test  by  a  careful  weighing  of  evidence, 
but  the  names  of  *'  unbeliever  "  and  ''  heretic  "  (nas- 
tika,  pashawc^a)  were  quickly  invented  in  India  as  else- 
where, and  bandied  backwards  and  forwards  between 
contending  parties,  till  at  last,  wnen  the  doctors  disa- 
greed, the  help  of  the  secular  power  had  to  be  invoked, 
and  kings  and  emperors  convoked  councils  for  the  sup- 
pression of  schism,  for  the  settlement  of  an  orthodox 
creed,  and  for  the  completion  of  a  sacred  canon.  We 
know  of  King  Asoka,  the  contemporary  of  Seleucus, 


20 


THE   SCIENCE   OF   RELIGION. 


sending  his  royal  missive  to  the  assembled  elders,  and 
teliino;  them  what  to  do,  and  what  to  avoid,  warning 
them  also  in  his  own  name  of  the  apocryphal  or  heret- 
ical character  of  certain  books  which,  as  he  thinks, 
ouglit  not  to  be  admitted  into  the  sacred  canon. 

We  here  learn  a  lesson,  which  is  confirmed  by  the 
study  of  other  religions,  that  canonical  books,  thouo-h 
they  fnrnish  in  most  cases  the  most  ancient  and  most 
authentic  information  within  the  reach  of  tlie  student 
of  relioion,  are  not  to  be  trusted  implicitly,  nay,  tliat 
thev  must  be  submitted  to  a  more  searchino-  criticism 
and  to  more  stringent  tests  than  any  other  historical 
books.  For  that  purpose  the  Science  of  Languao-e 
has  proved  in  many  cases  a  most  valuable  auxiliary. 
It  is  not  easy  to  imitate  ancient  lancruao-e  so  as  to  de- 
ceive  the  practiced  eye  of  the  gi-ammarian,  even  if  it 
were  possible  to  imitate  ancient  thought  that  should 
not  beti-ay  to  the  historian  its  modern  origin.  A  forged 
book,  like  the  Ezour  Veda,  whicli  deceived  even  Vol- 
taire, and  was  ])ublished  by  him  as  "  the  most  precious 
gift  for  whicli  the  West  was  indebted  to  the  East,' 
could  hardly  impose  again  on  any  Sanskrit  scholar  of 
the  present  day.  This  most  precions  gift  from  the 
East  to  the  West,  is  about  the  silliest  book  that  can  be 
read  by  the  student  of  religion,  and  all  one  can  say  in 
its  defense  is  that  the  original  writer  never  meant  it 
as  a  forgery,  never  intended  it  for  the  purpose  for 
which  it  was  used  by  Voltaire.  I  may  add  that  a 
book  which  has  lately  attracted  considerable  attention, 
"La  Bible  dans  I'lnde,"  by  M.  Jacolliot,  belono-s  to  the 
same  class  of  books.  Though  the  passages  from  the 
sacred  books  of  the  B  rah  mans  are  not  given  in  the 
original,  but  only  in  a  very  poetical  French  translation, 
no  Sanskrit  scholar  would  hesitate  for  one  moment  to 


FIRST   LECTURE.  21 

say  tliat  they  are  forgeries,  and  that  M.  Jacolliot,  the 

President  of  the  Court  of  Justice  at  Chandernagore, 

has  been  deceived  by  his  native    teacher.      We    find 

many  childish  and  fooHsh  things  in  the  Veda,  but  when 

we  read  the  following  line,  as  an    extract   from    the 

Veda  :  - 

La  femme  c'est  I'ame  de  I'humanite,  — 

it  is  not  difficult  to  see  that  this  is  the  folly  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  and  not  of  the  childhood  of  the  human 
race.  M.  Jacolliot's  conclusions  and  theories  are  such 
as  might  be  expected  from  his  materials. 

With  all  the  genuine  documents  for  studying  the 
history  of  the  religions  of  mankind  that  have  lately 
been  brought  to  light,  and  with  the  great  facilities 
which  a  more  extensive  study  of  Oriental  lancruao;es 
has  afforded  to  scholars  at  large  for  investigating  the 
deepest  springs  of  religious  thought  all  over  the  world, 
a  comparative  study  of  religions  has  become  a  neces- 
sity. A  science  of  religion,  based  on  a  comparison  of 
all,  or,  at  all  events,  of  the  most  important  religions  of 
mankind,  is  now  only  a  question  of  time.  It  is  de- 
manded by  those  whose  voice  cannot  be  disregarded. 
Its  title,  though  implying  as  yet  a  promise  rather  than 
a  fulHllment,  has  become  more  or  less  familiar  in  Ger- 
many, France,  and  America ;  its  great  problems  have 
attracted  the  eyes  of  many  inquirers,  and  its  results 
have  been  anticipated  either  with  fear  or  delight.  It 
becomes  the  duty  of  those  who  have  devoted  their  life 
to  the  study  of  the  principal  religions  of  the  world  in 
their  orio-inal  documents,  and  who  value  relio-ion  and 
reverence  it  in  whatever  form  it  may  present  itself,  to 
take  possession  of  this  new  territory  in  the  name  of 
true  science,  and  thus  to  protect  its  sacred  precincts 
from  the  inroads  of  mere  babblers.     Those  who  would 


22  THE   SCIENCE   OF   RELIGION. 

use  a  comparative  study  of  religions  as  a  means  for 
debasing  Christianity  by  exalting  the  other  religions 
of  mankind,  are  to  my  mind  as  dangerous  allies  as 
those  who  think  it  necessary  to  debase  all  other  relig- 
ions in  order  to  exalt  Christianity.  Science  wants  no 
partisans.  I  make  no  secret  that  true  Christianity 
seems  to  me  to  become  more  and  more  exalted  the 
more  we  appreciate  the  treasures  of  truth  hidden  in 
the  despised  religions  of  the  world.  But  no  one  can 
honestly  arrive  at  that  conviction,  unless  he  uses  hon- 
estly the  same  measure  for  all  religions.  It  would  be 
fatal  for  any  religion  to  claim  an  exceptional  treatment, 
most  of  all  for  Christianity.  Christianity  enjoyed  no 
privileges  and  claimed  no  immunities  when  it  boldly 
confronted  and  confounded  the  most  ancient  and  the 
most  powerful  religions  of  the  world.  Even  at  present 
it  craves  no  mercy,  and  it  receives  no  mercy  from 
those  whom  our  missionaries  have  to  meet  face  to  face 
in  every  part  of  the  world  ;  and  unless  our  religion 
has  ceased  to  be  what  it  was,  its  defenders  should  not 
shrink  from  this  new  trial  of  strength,  but  should  en- 
couraoje  rather  than  depreciate  the  study  of  compara- 
tive theology. 

And  let  me  remark  this,  in  the  very  beginning,  that 
no  other  religion,  with  the  exception,  perhaps,  of  early 
Buddhism,  would  have  favored  the  idea  of  an  impartial 
comparison  of  the  principal  religions  of  the  world  — 
would  have  tolerated  our  science.  Nearly  every  relig- 
ion seems  to  adopt  the  languasre  of  the  Pharisee  rather 
than  of  the  publican.  It  is  Christianity  alone  which, 
as  the  religion  of  humanitv,  as  the  religion  of  no  caste, 
of  no  chosen  people,  has  taucrht  us  to  respect  the  his- 
tory of  humanity,  as  a  whole,  to  discover  the  traces  of 
a  divine  wisdom  and  love  in  the  government  of  all  the 


FIKST   LECTURE.  23 

races  of  mankind,  and  to  recognize,  if  possible,  even  in 
the  lowest  and  crudest  forms  of  religious  belief,  not 
the  work  of  demoniacal  agencies,  but  something  that 
indicates  a  divine  guidance,  sometliing  that  makes  us 
perceive,  with  St.  Peter,  ''  that  God  is  no  respecter  of 
persons,  but  that  in  every  nation  he  that  feareth  Him 
and  worketh  righteousness  is  accepted  with  Him." 

In  no  religion  was  there  a  soil  so  well  prepared  for 
the  cultivation  of  Comparative  Theology  as  in  our  own. 
The  position  which  Christianity  from  the  very  begin- 
ning took  up  with  regard  to  Judaism,  served  as  the 
first  lesson  in  comparative  theology,  and  directed  the 
attention,'  even  of  the  unlearned,  to  a  comparison  of 
two  religions,  differing  in  their  conception  of  the  Deity, 
in  their  estimate  of  humanity,  in  their  motives  of  mo- 
rality, and  in  their  hope  of  immortality,  yet  sharing  so 
much  in  common  that  there  are  but  few  of  the  psalms 
and  prayers  in  the  Old  Testament  in  which  a  Christian 
cannot  heartily  join  even  now,  and  but  few  rules  of 
morality  which  he  ought  not  even  now  to  obey.  If 
we  have  once  learned  to  see  in  the  exclusive  relio-ion  of 
the  Jews  a  preparation  of  what  was  to  be  the  all-em- 
bracing religion  of  humanity,  we  shall  feel  much  less 
difficulty  in  recognizing  in  the  mazes  of  other  religions 
a  hidden  purpose  ;  a  wandering  in  the  desert,  it  may 
be,  but  a  preparation  also  for  the  land  of  promise. 

A  study  of  these  two  religions,  the  Jewish  and  the 
Christian,  such  as  it  has  long  been  carried  on  by  some 
of  our  most  learned  divines,  simultaneously  with  the 
study  of  Greek  and  Roman  mythology,  has,  in  fact, 
sei  v^ed  as  a  most  useful  preparation  for  wider  inquiries. 
Even  the  mistakes  that  have  been  committed  by  ear- 
lier scholars  have  proved  useful  to  those  wdio  followed 
after ;  and,  once  corrected,  they  are  not  likely  to  be 


24  THE   SCIENCE    OF   EELIGION. 

committed  again.  The  opinion,  for  instance,  that  the 
pagan  reh'gions  were  mere  corruptions  of  the  religion 
of  the  Old  Testament,  once  snpi)orted  by  men  of  liigh 
autliority  and  great  learning,  is  now  as  completely 
surrendered  as  the  attempts  of  explaining  Greek  and 
Latin  as  corruptions  of  Hebrew.  The  theory  aoaiis^ 
that  there  was  a  primeval  preternatural  revelation 
granted  to  the  fathers  of  the  Imman  race,  and  that  the 
grains  of  truth  which  catch  our  eye  when  exploi'ing 
the  temples  of  heathen  idols,  are  the  scattered  frag- 
ments of  that  sacred  heirloom,  —  the  seeds  that  fell  by 
the  way-side  or  upon  stony  places,  —  would  find  but 
few  supporters  at  present  ;  no  more,  in  fact,  than  the 
theory  that  there  was  in  the  beginning  one  complete 
and  perfect  primeval  language,  broken  up  in  later 
times  into  the  numberless  lano;uacres  of  the  world. 

Some  other  principles,  too,  have  been  established 
within  this  limited  sphere  by  a  comparison  of  Judaism 
and  Christianity  with  the  religions  of  Greece  and 
Rome,  which  will  prove  extremely  useful  in  guiding 
us  in  our  own  researches.  It  has  been  proved,  for 
instance,  that  the  language  of  antiquity  is  not  like  the 
language  of  our  own  times  ;  that  the  language  of  the 
East  is  not  like  the  language  of  the  West ;  and  that, 
unless  we  make  allowance  for  this,  we  cannot  but 
misinterpret  the  utterances  of  the  most  ancient  teach- 
ers a!id  poets  of  the  human  race.  The  same  words  do 
not  mean  the  same  thing  in  Anglo-Saxon  and  English, 
in  Latin  and  French  :  much .  less  can  we  expect  that 
the  words  of  any  modern  language  should  be  the  exact 
equivalents  of  an  ancient  Semitic  language,  such  as 
the  Hebrew  of  the  Old  Testament. 

Ancient  words  and  ancient  thouorhts,  for  both  20 
together,  have  not  yet  arrived  at  that  stage  of  abstrac- 


FIRST   LECTURE.        '  25 

tion  in  wliicli,  for  instance,  active  powers,  wlietlier  nat- 
ural or  sn])ernatural,  can  he  represented  in  any  but  a 
personal  and  more  or  less  human  form.  When  we 
speak  of  a  temptation  from  within  or  from  without,  it 
was  more  natural  for  the  ancients  to  speak  of  a  tenij)ter, 
whether  in  a  human  or  in  an  animal  form  ;  when  we 
speak  of  the  ever-present  help  of  God,  they  call  the 
Lord  their  rock,  and  their  fortress,  their  buckler,  and 
their  high  tower;  what  with  us  is  a  heavenly  message, 
or  a  godsend,  was  to  them  a  winged  messenger;  what 
we  call  divine  guidance,  tliey  speak  of  as  a  pillar  of  a 
cloud  to  lead  them  the  way,  and  a  pillar  of  light  to 
give  them  light;  a  refuge  from  the  storm,  and  a  shadow 
from  the  heat.  What  is  really  meant  is  no  donbt  the 
same,  and  the  fault  is  ours,  not  theirs,  if  we  willfully 
misinterpret  the  language  of  ancient  prophets,  if  we 
persist  in  understanding  their  words  in  their  outward 
and  material  aspect  only,  and  forget  that  before  lan- 
guage had  sanctioned  a  distinction  between  the  con- 
crete and  the  abstract,  between  the  purely  s])iritual  as 
opposed  to  the  coarsely  material,  the  intention  of  the 
speakers  comprehends  both  the  concrete  and  the  ab- 
stract, both  the  material  and  the  spiritual,  in  a  manner 
which  has  become  quite  strange  to  us,  though  it  lives 
on  in  the  language  of  ewevy  true  poet.  Unless  we 
make  allowance  for  this  mental  pai'allax,  all  our  read- 
ings in  the  ancient  skies  will  be,  and  must  be  errone- 
ous. Nay,  I  believe  it  can  be  proved  that  more  than 
half  of  the  difficulties  in  the  historv  of  relio;ious  thouo-ht 
owe  their  origin  to  this  constant  misinterpretion  of  an- 
cient language  by  modern  language,  of  ancient  thought 
by  modern  thought. 

That  much  of  what  seems  to  us,  and  seemed  to  the 
best  among  the  ancients,  irrational  and  irreverent  in 


26  THE   SCIENCE   OF   RELIGION. 

the  mythologies  of  India,  Greece,  and  Italy,  can  thus 
be  renioved,  and  that  many  of  tiielr  childish  fables  can 
thus  be  read  ao;ain  in  their  original  child-like  sense, 
has  been  proved  by  the  researches  of  Comparative  My- 
thologists.  The  {)hase  of  language  which  gives  rise, 
inevitably,  we  may  say,  to  these  misunderstandings, 
is  earlier  than  the  earliest  literary  documents.  Its 
work  in  the  Aryan  languages  was  done  before  the  time 
of  the  Veda,  before  the  time  of  Homer,  though  its 
influence  continues  to  be  felt  to  a  much  later  period.  • 

Is  it  likely  that  the  Semitic  languages,  and,  more 
particularly,  Hebrew,  should,  as  by  a  miracle,  have 
escaped  the  influence  of  a  process  which  is  inherent  in 
the  very  nature  and  growth  of  language,  which,  in  fact, 
may  rightly  be  called  an  infantine  disease,  against 
which  no  precautions  can  be  of  any  avail  ? 

And  if  it  is  not,  are  we  likeh*  to  lose  anything  if  we 
try  to  get  at  the  most  ancient,  the  most  original  inten- 
tion of  sacred  traditions,  instead  of  beincr  satisfied  with 
their  later  aspect,  their  modern  misinterpretations  ? 
Have  we  lost  anvthinor  if  while  reading  the  storv  of 
HephaBstos  splitting  open  with  his  axe  the  head  of 
Zeus,  and  Athene  springing  from  it  full  armed,  we  per- 
ceive behind  this  savage  imagery,  Zeus  as  the  bright 
Sky,  his  forehead  as  the  East,  Hephaestos  as  the  young, 
not  yet  risen  Sun,  and  Athene  as  the  Dawn,  the  daugh- 
ter of  the  Sky,  stepping  forth  from  the  fountain-head 
of  light  — 

rAavKWTTts,  with  eyes  like  an  owl  (and  beautiful  they 
are)  ; 

Ilap^eVog,  pure  as  a  virgin ; 

XpuVca,  the  golden  ; 

*AKpta,  lighting  up  the  tops  of  the  mountains,  and  her 
own  glorious  Parthenon  in  her  own  favorite  town  of 
Athens  ; 


FIRST   LECTURE.  27 

HaWa?,  whirling  the  shafts  of  lio;ht ; 

'AAe'tt,  tlie  genial  v\armth  of  the  mornmg  ; 

Jlp6ixa)(o<s,  the  foremost  cliampion  in  the  battle  be- 
tween night  and  day  ; 

IlavoTrAo?,  in  full  arnioi',  in  her  panoply  of  light,  driv- 
ing away  the  darkness  of  niglit,  and  awakening  men  to 
a  bright  life,  to  bright  thoughts,  to  bright  endeavors. 

Would  the  Greeks  have  iiad  less  reverence  for  their 
gods  if,  instead  of  believing  that  Apollo  and  Artemis 
murdered  the  twelve  children  of  Niobe,  they  had  per- 
ceived that  Niobe  was,  in  a  former  period  of  language, 
a  name  of  snow  and  winter,  and  that  no  more  was  in- 
tended by  the  ancient  poet  than  that  Apollo  and  Arte- 
mis, the  vernal  deities,  must  slay  every  year  with  their 
darts  the  brilliant  and  beautiful  but  doomed  children 
of  the  Snow?  Is  it  not  something  worth  knowing, 
worth  knowing  even  to  us  after  the  lapse  of  four  or  five 
thousand  years,  that  before  the  separation  of  the  Aryan 
race,  before  the  existence  of  Sanskrit,  Greek,  or  Latin, 
before  the  gods  of  the  Veda  had  been  worshipped,  and 
before  there  was  a  sanctuary  of  Zeus  among  the  sacred 
oaks  of  Dodona,  one  supreme  deity  had  been  found, 
had  been  named,  had  been  invoked  by  the  ancestors  of 
our  race,  and  had  been  invoked  by  a  name  which  has 
never  been  excelled  by  any  other  i]ame  ? 

No;  if  a  critical  examination  of  the  ancient  lano-ua^e 
of  the  Jews  leads  to  no  worse  results  than  those  which 
have  followed  from  a  careful  interpretation  of  the  pet- 
rified language  of  ancient  India  and  Greece,  we  need 
not  fear;  we  shall  be  gainers,  not  losers.  Like  an  old 
precious  medal,  the  ancient  religion,  after  the  rust  of 
ages  has  been  removed,  will  come  out  in  all  its  ))urity 
and  brightness  ;  and  the  image  which  it  discloses  will 
be  the  image  of  the  Father,  the  Father  of  all  the  na- 


^^  THE   SCIENCE   OF   RELIGION. 

tions  Tipon  earth  ;  and  the  superscription,  when  we  can 
read  it  again,  will  be,  not  onlj  in  Jud^a,  but  in  the 
languages  of  all  the  races  of  the  world,  the  Word  of 
(rod,  revealed,  where  alone  it  can  be  revealed,  —  re- 
vealed  in  the  heart  of  man. 


SECOND   LECTURE. 


nPHERE  is  no  lack  of  materials,  and  there  is  abun- 
-"-  dance  of  work  for  the  student  of  tlie  Science  of 
Religion.  It  is  true  that,  compared  with  the  number 
of  lanoruacres  which  the  comparative  phil()k)gist  has  to 
deal  with,  the  number  of  religions  is  small.  In  a  com- 
parative study  of  languages,  however,  w^e  find  most  of 
our  materials  ready  for  use ;  we  possess  grammars  and 
dictionaries.  But  where  are  we  to  look  for  the  gram- 
mars and  dictionaries  of  the  principal  religions  of  the 
world?  Not  in  the  catechisms  or  the  articles,  not 
even  in  the  so-called  creeds  or  confessions  of  faith 
which,  if  they  do  not  give  us  an  actual  misrepresenta- 
tion of  the  doctrines  which  they  profess  to  epitomize, 
give  us  always  the  shadow  only,  and  never  the  soul 
and  substance  of  a  religion.  But  how  seldom  do  we 
find  even  such  helps  ! 

Among  Eastern  nations  it  is  not  unusual  to  distin- 
guish between  religions  that  are  founded  on  a  book, 
and  others  that  have  no  such  vouchers  to  produce. 
The  former  are  considered  more  respectable,  and, 
though  they  may  contain  false  docti'ine,  they  are  looked 
upon  as  a  kind  of  aristocracy  among  the  vulcrar  and 
nondescript  crowd  of  bookless  or  illiterate  religions. 

To  the  student  of  religion  canonical  books  are,  no 
doubt,  of  the  utmost  importance,  though  he  ouo-ht 
HBver  to  forget  that  nearly  all  canonical  books  give  the 
reflected  image  only  of  the  real  doctrines  of  the  foun- 


30  THE   SCIENCE   OF   KELIGION. 

der  of  a  new  religion,  an  image  always  blurred  and 
distorted  by  the  medium  through  which  it  had  to  pass. 
But  liow  few  are  the  religions  which  possess  even  a 
sacred  canon,  how  small  is  the  aristocracy  of  real  book- 
religions  in  the  history  of  tlie  world  !  Let  us  look  at 
the  two  families  that  have  been  the  principal  actors  in 
that  great  drama  which  we  call  the  history  of  the 
world,  the  Aryan  and  the  Semitic^  and  we  shall  find 
that  two  members  only  of  each  family  can  claim  the 
possession  of  a  sacred  code.  Among  the  Aryans^  the 
Hindus  and  the  Persians ;  among  the  Shemites,  the 
Hebrews  and  the  Arabs.  In  the  Aryan  family  the 
Hindus,  in  the  Semitic  family  the  Hebrews,  have  each 
produced  two  book-religions ;  the  Hindus  have  given 
rise  to  Brahmanism  and  Buddhism  ;  the  Hebrews  to 
Mosaism  and  Christianity.  Nay,  it  is  important  to 
observe  that  in  each  family  the  third  book-religion  can 
hardly  lay  claim  to  an  independent  origin,  but  is  oidy 
a  weaker  repetition  of  the  first.  Zoroastrianism  has 
its  sources  in  the  same  stratum  which  fed  the  deeper 
and  broader  stream  of  Vedic  religion  ;  Mohammedan- 
ism s|)rings,  as  far  as  its  most  vital  doctrines  are  con- 
cerned, from  the  ancient  fountain-head  of  the  relimon 
of  Al^raham,  the  worshipper  and  the  friend  of  the  one 
true  God.  If  you  keep  before  your  mind  the  forego- 
ing simple  outline,  you  can  see  the  river  system  in 
which  the  religious  thought  of  the  Aryan  and  the 
Semitic  nations  has  been  running  for  centuries,  —  of 
those,  at  least,  who  are  in  possession  of  sacred  and 
canonical  books. 

While  Buddhism  is  the  direct  offspring,  and,  at  the 
same  time  the  antagonist  of  Brahmanism,  Zoroastrian- 
ism is  rather  a  deviation  from  the  straight  course  of 
ancient  Vedic  faith,  though  it  likewise  contains  a  pro- 


•SECOND  LECTURE.  31 

test  against  some  of  tlie  doctrines  of  the  earliest  wor- 
shippers of  the  Vedic  gods.  The  same,  or  nearly  the 
same  rehitionship  holds  together  the  three  principal 
religions  of  the  Semitic  stock,  only  that,  chronolog- 
ically, Mohammedar.ism  is  later  than  Christianity, 
while  Zoroastrianism  is  earlier  than  Buddhism. 

Observe  also  another,  and,  as  we  shall  see,  by  no 
means  accidental  coincidence  in  the  parallel  ramifica- 
tions of  these  two  relio-ious  stems. 

Buddhism,  which  is  the  offspring  of,  but  at  the  same 
time  marks  a  reaction  against  the  ancient  Brahmanism 
of  India,  withered  away  after  a  time  on  the  soil  from 
which  it  had  sprung,  and  assumed  its  real  importance 
only  after  it  had  been  transplanted  from  India,  and 
struck  root  amono;  Turanian  nations  in  the  very  centre 
of  the  Asiatic  continent.  Buddhism,  beincr  at  its  birth 
an  Aryan  religion,  ended  by  becoming  the  principal 
religion  of  the  Turanian  world. 

The  same  transference  took  place  in  the  second 
stem.  Christianity,  being  the  off>pring  of  Mosaism, 
was  rejected  by  the  Jews  as  Buddhism  was  by  the 
Brahmans.  It  failed  to  fullfil  its  purpose  as  a  mere 
reform  of  the  ancient  Jewish  religion,  and  not  till  it 
had  been  transferred  fi-om  Semitic  to  Aryan  ground, 
from  the  Jews  to  the  Gentiles,  did  it  develop  its  real 
nature  and  assume  its  world-wide  importance.  Hav- 
ing been  at  its  birth  a  Semitic  religion,  it  became  the 
principal  religion  of  the  Aryan  world. 

There  is  one  other  nation  only,  outside  the  pale  of 
the  Aryan  and  Semitic  families,  which  can  claim  one, 
or  even  two  book-religions  as  its  own.  China  became 
the  mother,  at  almost  the  same  time,  of  two  religions, 
each  founded  on  a  sacred  code,  —  the  religion  of  Con- 
fucius, and  the  religion  of  Lao-tse,  the  former  resting 


32  THE   SCIENCE   OF   RELIGION. 

on  the  Five  King  and  the  Four  Shu,  and  the  latter  on 
the  Tao-te-king. 

With  these  eiglit  religions  the  library  of  tlie  Sacred 
Books  of  the  whole  human  race  is  complete,  and  an 
accurate  study  of  these  eight  codes,  written  in  Sanskrit, 
Pali,  and  Zend,  in  Hebrew,  Greek,  and  Arabic,  lastly 
in  Chinese,  might  in  itself  not  seem  too  formidable  an 
undertaking  for  a  single  scholar.  Yet,  let  ns  begin  at 
home,  and  look  at  the  enormous  literature  devoted  to 
the  interpretation  of  the  Old  Testament,  at  the  num- 
ber of  books  ])ublished  every  year  on  controverted 
points  in  the  doctrine  or  the  history  of  the  Gospels, 
and  you  may  then  form  an  idea  of  what  a  theological 
library  would  be  thar  should  contain  the  necessary  ma- 
terials for  an  accurate  and  scholarlike  interj)retation 
of  the  eight  sacred  codes.  Even  in  so  modern,  and, 
in  the  beginning,  at  least,  so  illiterate  a  religicm  as  that 
of  Mohammed,  the  sources  that  have  to  be  consulted 
for  the  history  of  the  faith  during  the  early  centuries 
of  its  growth  are  so  abundant,  tliat  few  critical  scholars 
could  master  them  in  their  completeness.^ 

If  we  turn  our  eyes  to  the  Aryan  religions,  the 
sacred  writings  of  the  Brahmans,  in  the  narrowest 
acceptation  of  the  word,  might  seem  within  easy  grasp. 
The  hynms  of  the  Rig-veda,  M^hich  are  the  real  bible 
of  the  ancient  faith  of  the  Vedic  Rishis,  are  only  1,028 

1  Sprenger,  Das  Lehen  des  Mohammed,  vol.  i.  p.  9.  "Die  Qnellen, 
die  ich  benutzt  habe,  sind  so  zahlreieh,  und  der  Zustand  der  Gelehr- 
samkeit  war  unter  den  Moslimen  in  ihrer  Urzeit  von  dem  unsrigen  so 
verschieden,  dass  die  Materialien,  die  ich  nber  die  Quellen  gesammelt 
habe,  ein  zieinlich  beleibtes  Bandchen  bilden  werden.  Es  ist  in  der 
That  nothwendig,  die  Literaturgeschichte  des  Islam  der  ersten  zwei 
Jahrhunderte  zu  schrciben,  um  den  Leser  in  den  Stand  zu  setzen,  den 
hier  gesammelten  kritischen  Apparat  zu  benutzen.  Ich  gedenke  die 
Resultate  meiner  Forschungen  als  ein  separates  Werkchen  nach  der 
Prophetenbiographie  herauszugeben." 


SECOND   LECTURE.  33 

in  number,  consistinor  of  about  10,580  verses.^  The 
comuieiitarv,  however,  on  tliese  liymns,  of  which  I 
have  pubhshed  four  good  sized  quarto  voUnnes,  is  esti- 
mated at  100,000  lines,  consisting  of  thirty-two  sylla- 
bles each,  that  is  at  3,200,000  syllables.  '  There  are 
besides,  the  three  minor  Vedas,  tlie  Ya^^'ur-vechi,  the 
Sama-veda,  the  Artharva-veda,  which,  though  of  less 
importance  for  religious  doctrines,  are  indispensable  for 
a  rio-ht  appreciation  of  the  ceremonial  system  of  the 
worshippei's  of  the  ancient  Vetlic  gods. 

To  each  of  these  four  Vedas  belong  collections  of 
so-called  Brahmauas^  scholastic  treatises  of  a  later 
time,  it  is  true,  but  nevertheless  written  in  archaic 
Sanskrit,  and  reckoned  by  every  orthodox  Hindu  as 
part  of  his  revealed  literature.  Their  bulk  is  much 
larger  than  that  of  the  ancient  Vedic  hymn-books. 

And  all  this  constitutes  the  text  only  for  numberless 
treatises,  essays,  manuals,  glosses,  etc.,  forming  an  un- 
interrupted chain  of  theological  literature,  extending 
over  more  than  three  thousand  years,  and  receiving 
new  links  even  at  the  present  time.  There  are,  be- 
sides, the  inevitable  parasites  of  theological  literature, 
the  controversial  writings  of  different  schools  of  thought 
and  faith,  all  claiming  to  be  orthodox,  vet  differinor 
from  each  other  like  day  and  night;  and  lastly,  the 
compositi  ms  of  writers,  professedly  unorthodox,  pro- 
fessedly at  variance  with  the  opinions  of  ttie  majority, 
declared  enemies  of  the  Brahmanic  faith  and  the  Brah- 
manic  priesthood,  whose  accusations  and  insinuations, 
wdiose  sledge-hammers  of  argument,  and  whose  poi- 
soned arrows  of  invective  need  fear  no  comparison 
with  the  weapons  of  theological  warfare  in  any  other 
country. 

1  Max  Miiller,  History  of  Ancient  Saiiskrit  Literature,  p.  220. 
3 


34  THE   SCIENCE   OF   EELIGION. 

Nor  can  we  exclude  the  sacred  law  books,  nor  the 
ancient  epic  poems,  the  Mahabharata  and  Rainayaria, 
nor  the  more  modern,  yet  sacred  literature  of  India, 
the  Purarzas  and  Tantras,  if  we  wish  to  gain  an  insight 
into  the  religious  belief  of  millions  of  human  beings, 
who  though  thev  all  acknowledoje  the  Veda  as  their 
supreme  authority  in  matters  of  faith,  yet  are  unable 
to  understand  one  single  line  of  it,  and  in  their  daily 
life  depend  entirely  for  spiritual  food  on  the  teaching 
conveyed  to  them  by  these  more  recent  and  more  pop- 
ular books.  And  even  then  our  eye  would  not  have 
reached  many  of  the  sacred  recesses  in  which  the 
Hindu  mind  has  taken  refuge,  either  to  meditate  on 
the  great  problem  of  life,  or  to  free  itself  from  the 
temptations  and  fetters  of  worldly  existence  by  pen- 
ances and  mortifications  of  the  most  exquisite  cruelty. 
India  has  always  been  teeming  with  religious  sects,  and 
as  far  as  we  can  look  back  into  the  history  of  that  mar- 
velous country,  its  religious  life  has  been  broken  up 
into  countless  local  centres  which  it  required  all  the  in- 
genuity and  perseverance  of  a  priestly  caste  to  hold 
together  with  a  semblance  of  dogmatic  uniformity. 
Some  of  these  sects  may  almost  claim  the  title  of  inde- 
pendent religions,  as,  for  instance,  the  once  famous  sect 
of  the  Sikhs,  possessing  their  own  sacred  code  and  their 
own  priesthood,  and  threatening  for  a  time  to  become 
a  formidable  rival  of  Brahmanism  and  Mohammedan- 
ism in  India.  Political  circumstances  gave  to  the  sect 
of  Nanak  its  historical  prominence  and  more  lasting 
fame.  To  the  student  of  religion  it  is  but  one  out  of 
many  sects  which  took  their  origin  in  the  fifteenth  and 
sixteenth  centuries,  and  attempted  to  replace  the  cor- 
ruptions of  Hinduism  and  Mohammedanism  by  a  purer 
and  more  spiritual  worship.     The   Granth,  i.  e.   the 


SECOND   LECTURE.  35 

Volume,  the  sacred  book  of  the  Sikhs,  is  full  of  inter- 
est, full  of  really  deep  and  poetical  thoucrht ;  and  it  is 
to  be  hoped  that  it  will  soon  find  an  English  translator. 
But  there  are  other  collections  of  religious  poetry, 
more  ancient  and  more  original  than  the  stanzas  of 
Nanak  ;  nay,  many  of  the  most  beautiful  verses  of  the 
Granth  were  borrowed  from  these  earlier  authorities, 
particularly  from  Kabir,the  pupil  of  Ramanand.  Here 
there  is  enough  to  occupy  the  students  of  religion  :  an 
intellectual  flora  of  greater  variety  and  profuseness 
tlian  even  the  natural  flora  of  that  fertile  country. 

And  vet  we  have  not  said  a  word  as  yet  of  the 
second  book-religion  of  India — of  the  religion  of  Bud- 
dha, originally  one  only  out  of  numberless  sects,  but 
possessing  a  vitality  which  has  made  its  branches  to 
overshadow  the  largest  portion  of  the  inhabited  globe. 
Who  can  say  —  I  do  not  speak  of  European  scholars 
only,  but  of  the  most  learned  members  of  the  Buddhist 
fraternities  —  who  can  say  that  he  has  read  the  whole 
of  the  canonical  books  of  the  Buddhist  Church,  to  say 
nothino-  of  their  commentaries  or  later  treatises?  The 
text  and  commentaries  of  the  Buddhist  canon  contain, 
according  to  a  statement  in  the  Saddharma-alankara,^ 
29,368,000  letters.  Such  statements  do  not  convey  to 
our  mind  any  very  definite  idea,  nor  could  any  scholar 
vouch  for  their  absolute  correctness.  But  if  we  consider 
that  the  English  Bible  is  said  to  contain  about  three 
millions  and  a  half  of  letters,^  (and  here  vowels  are 
counted  separately  from  consonants),  five  or  six  times 
that  amount  would  hardly  seem  enough,  as  a  rough 
estimate  of  the  bulk  of  the  Buddhist  scriptures.  The 
Tibetan  edition   of  the  Buddhist  canon,  consisting  of 

1  Spence  Hardy,  The  Legends  and  Theories  of  the  Buddhists,  p.  66. 

2  3,567,180. 


36  THE   SCIENCE   OF   RELIGION. 

two  collections,  the  Kanjur  and  Tanjnr,  numbers,  about 
three  iiundred  and  twenty-five  volumes  folio,  each 
weighing,  in  the  Pekin  edition,  from  four  to  five 
pounds. 1 

Apparently  within  a  smaller  compass  lies  the  sacred 
literature  of  the  third  of  the  Aryan  book-religions,  the 
so-called  Zendavesta.  But  here  the  very  scantiness  of 
the  ancient  text  increases  the  difficulty  of  its  success- 
ful interpretation,  and  the  absence  of  native  commen- 
taries has  thrown  nearly  the  whole  burden  of  decipher- 
ing on  the  patience  and  ingenuity  of  Enropean  scholars. 

If  lastly  we  turn  to  China,  we  find  tliat  the  religion 
of  Confucius  is  founded  on  the  Five  King  and  the  Four 
Shu  —  books  in  themselves  of  considerable  extent,  and 
surrounded  by  voluminous  commentaries,  without  which 
even  the  most  learned  scholars  would  not  A^enture  to 
fathom  the  depth  of  their  sacred  canon.^ 

Lao-tse,  the  contemporary  or  rather  the  senior  of 
Confucius,  is  reported  to  have  written  a  large  number 
of  books  ;  ^  no  less  than  nine  hundred  and  thirty  on 
different  questions  of  faith,  morality,  and  worsjiip,  and 
seventy  on  magic.  His  ])rincipal  work,  however,  the 
Tao-te-king,  which  represents  the  real  scripture  of  his 
followers,  the  Tao-sse,  consists  only  of  about  five  thou- 
sand words,^  and  fills  no  more  than  thirty  pages.  But 
here  again  we  find  that  for  that  very  reason  the  text  is 
unintelligible  without  copious  commentaries,  so  that  M. 
Julien  had  to  consult  more  than  sixty  commentators  for 

1  Chips  from  a  German  Workshop,  vol.  i.  p.  193. 

2  l^he  Chinpse  Classics,  with  a  Translation,  Notes,  Prolegomena,  and 
Indexes.     By  James  Legire,  D.  D. ;  7  vols.    London  :  Triibner  &  Co. 

^  Stan.  Julien,  Tao  te  king,  p.  xxvii. 

*  Julien,  Tao  te  king,  p.  xxxi.,  xxxv.  The  texts  vary  from  5,610, 
5,630,  5,688,  to  5,722  words.  The  text  published  by  m'.  Stan.  Julien 
consists  of  5,320  words. 


SECOND   LECTURE.  37 

the  purpose  of  liis  translation,  the  earliest  going  back 
as  far  as  tlie  year  163  b.  c. 

There  is  a  third  established  religion  in  China,  that 
of  Fo  ;  but  Fo  is  only  tlie  Chinese  corruption  of  Bud- 
dha, and  thouirh  the  religion  of  Buddlia,  as  transferred 
from  India  to  China,  has  assumed  a  peculiar  character 
and  produced  an  enormous  literature  of  its  own,  yet 
Chinese  Buddhism  cannot  be  called  an  independent 
religion,  any  more  than  Buddhism  in  Ceylon,  Burmah, 
and  Siam,  or  in  Nepaul,  Tibet,  and  Mongolia. 

But  after  we  hav^e  collected  this  library  of  the  sacred 
books  of  the  world  with  their  indispensable  commen- 
taries, are  w^e  then  in  possession  of  the  requisite  mate- 
rials for  studying  the  growth  and  decay  of  the  religious 
convictions  of  mankind  at  large  ?  Far  from  it.  Tlie 
largest  portion  of  mankind,  —  aye,  and  some  of  the 
most  valiant  champions  in  the  religious  and  intellectual 
struggles  of  the  world,  would  be  unrepresented  in  our 
theological  library.  Think  only  of  the  Greeks  and 
the  Romans  ;  think  of  the  Teutonic,  the  Celtic,  and 
Slavonic  nations !  Where  are  we  to  gain  an  insight 
into  what  we  may  call  their  real  religious  convictions, 
previous  to  the  comparatively  recent  period  when  their 
ancient  temples  were  leveled  to  the  ground  to  make 
room  for  new  cathedrals  ;  and  their  sacred  oaks  were 
felled  to  be  changed  into  crosses,  planted  along  every 
mountain  pass  and  forest  lane  ?  Homer  and  Hesiod 
do  not  tell  us  what  was  the  religion,  the  real  heart- 
religion  of  the  Greeks,  nor  were  their  own  poems  ever 
considered  as  sacred,  or  even  as  authoritative  and  bind- 
ing, by  the  highest  intellects  among  the  Greeks.  In 
Rome  we  have  not  even  an  Iliad  or  Odyssey  ;  and 
when  we  ask  for  the  religious  worship  of  the  Teutonic, 
the  Celtic,  or  the  Slavonic  tribes,  the  very  names  of 


38  THE   SCIENCE   OF  RELIGION. 

many  of  the  deities  in  whom  they  believed  are  forgot- 
ten and  lost  forever,  and  the  scattered  notices  of  their 
faith  have  to  be  picked  up  and  put  together  like  the 
small  stones  of  a  broken  mosaic  that  once  formed  the 
pavement  in  the  ruined  temples  of  Rome. 

The  same  gaps,  the  same  want  of  representative  au- 
thorities, which  we  witness  among  the  Aryan,  we  meet 
again  among  the  Semitic  nations,  as  soon  as  we  step 
out  of  the  circle  of  their  book-religions.  The  Babylo- 
nians, the  Phenicians,  and  Carthaginians,  the  Arabs  be- 
fore tlieir  conversion  to  Mohammedanism,  all  are  with? 
out  canonical  books,  and  a  knowledge  of  their  religion 
has  to  be  gathered,  as  well  as  may  be,  from  monuments, 
inscriptions,  traditions,  from  proper  names,  from  prov- 
erbs, from  curses,  and  other  stray  notices  which  require 
the  greatest  care  before  they  can  be  properly  sifted 
and  successfully  fitted  together. 

But  now  let  us  go  on  further.  The  two  beds  in 
which  the  stream  of  Aryan  and  Semitic  thought  has 
been  rolhno;  on  for  centuries  from  southeast  to  north- 
west,  from  the  Indus  to  the  Thames,  from  the  Euphra- 
tes to  the  Jordan  and  the  Mediterranean,  cover  but  a 
narrow  tract  of  country  compared  with  the  vastness  of 
our  globe.  As  we  rise  higlier,  our  horizon  expands  on 
every  side,  and  wherever  there  are  traces  of  human 
life  there  are  traces  also  of  religion.  Along  the  shores 
of  the  ancient  Nile  we  see  still  standing  the  Pyramids, 
and  the  ruins  of  temples  and  labyrinths,  their  walls 
covered  with  hieroglyphic  inscriptions,  and  with  the 
sti'ange  pictures  of  gods  and  goddesses.  On  rolls  of 
papyrus,  which  seem  to  defy  the  ravages  of  time,  we 
have  even  fragments  of  what  may  be  called  the  sacred 
books  of  the  Egyptians.  Yet  though  much  has  been 
deciphered  in  the  ancient  records  of  that  mysterious 


SECOND   LECTURE.  39 

race,  the  mainspring  of  the  religion  of  Egypt  and  the 
original  intention  of  its  ceremonial  worship  are  far  from 
being  fully  disclosed  to  us.  As  we  follow  the  sacred 
stream  to  its  distant  sources  the  whole  continent  of  Af- 
rica opens  before  us,  and  wherever  we  now  see  kraals 
and  cattle-pens,  depend  upon  it  there  was  to  be  seen 
once,  or  there  is  to  be  seen  even  now,  the  smoke  of 
sacrifices  rising  up  from  earth  to  heaven.  The  ancient 
relics  of  African  faith  are  rapidly  disappearing  at  the 
approach  of  Mohammedan  and  Christian  missionaries ; 
but  what  has  been  preserved  of  it,  chiefly  through  the 
exertions  of  learned  missionaries,  is  full  of  Interest  to 
the  student  of  religion,  with  Its  strange  worship  of 
snakes  and  ancestors,  its  vague  hope  of  a  future  life, 
and  its  not  altogether  faded  reminiscence  of  a  Supreme 
God,  the  Father  of  the  black  as  well  as  of  the  white 
man. 

From  the  eastern  coast  of  Africa  our  eye  is  carried 
across  the  sea  where,  from  Madagascar  to  Hawaii,  isl- 
and after  island  stands  out  like  so  many  pillars  of  a 
sunken  bridge  that  once  spanned  the  Indian  and  Pa- 
cific oceans.  Everywhere,  whether  among  the  dark 
Papuan  or  the  yellowish  Malay,  or  the  brown  Poly- 
nesian races  scattered  on  these  islands,  even  among  the 
lowest  of  the  low  in  the  scale  of  humanity,  there  are, 
if  we  will  but  listen,  whisperings  about  divine  beings, 
Imaginings  of  a  future  life ;  there  are  prayers  and  sac- 
rifices which,  even  In  their  most  degraded  and  degrad- 
ing form,  still  bear  witness  to  that  old  and  ineradicable 
faith  that  everywhere  there  is  a  God  to  hear  our  pray- 
ers, if  we  will  but  call  on  Him,  and  to  accept  our  of- 
ferings, if  they  are  offered  as  a  ransom  for  sin  or  as  a 
token  of  a  grateful  heart. 

Still  farther  east  the  double  continent  of  America 


40  THE   SCIENCE   OF  RELIGION. 

becomes  visible,  and  in  spite  of  the  uncliristian  vandal- 
ism of  its  first  discoverers  and  conquerors,  there,  too, 
we  find  materials  for  the  study  of  an  ancient,  and,  it 
would  seem,  independent  faith.  Unfortunattdy,  the 
reliorious  and  mythological  traditions,  collected  by  the 
first  Europeans  who  came  in  contact  with  the  natives 
of  America,  reach  back  but  a  short  distance  beyond 
the  time  when  they  were  written  down,  and  they  seem 
in  several  cases  to  reflect  the  thouixhts  of  the  Spanish 
listeners  as  much  as  those  of  the  native  narrators.  The 
quaint  hieroglyphic  manuscripts  of  Mexico  and  Gua- 
temala have  as  yet  told  us  very  little,  and  the  accounts 
written  by  natives  in  their  native  lancruage  have  to  be 
used  WMth  jxi'^at  caution.  Still  the  ancient  relio;;ion  of 
the  Aztecs  of  Mexico  and  of  the  Incas  of  Peru  is  full 
of  interesting  problems.  As  we  advance  towards  the 
north  and  its  red  skinned  inhabitants,  our  information 
becomes  more  meagre  still,  and  after  what  ha|)pened 
some  years  ago,  no  '^  Livre  des  Sauvages  "  Is  likely  to 
come  to  our  assistance  again.  Yet  there  are  wild  and 
home-grown  specimens  of  religious  faith  to  be  studied 
even  now  among  the  receding  and  gradually  perishing 
tribes  of  the  Red  Indians,  and,  in  their  languages  as 
well  as  in  their  religions,  traces  may  possibly  still  be 
found,  before  it  is  too  late,  of  pre-historic  migrations 
of  men  from  the  primitive  Asiatic  to  the  American 
continent,  either  across  the  stepping-stones  of  the  Aleu- 
tlc  bridge  in  the  north,  or  lower  south  by  drifting  with 
fa^'orable  winds  from  island  to  island,  till  the  hardy 
canoe  w^as  landed  or  wrecked  on  the  American  coast, 
never  more  to  return  to  the  Asiatic  home  from  which 
it  started. 

And  when  in   our  religious  survey  we  finally  come 
back  again  to  the  Asiatic  continent,  we  find  here  too, 


SECOND   LECTURE.  41 

although  nearly  the  wliole  of  its  area  is  now  occupied  by 
one  or  tlie  otlier  of  the  eiolit  book-religions,  by  Mdsa- 
ism,  ClnMstianity,  and  Mohammedanism,  by  Brahman- 
ism,  Buddhism,  and  Zoroasrriani>m,  and  in  China  by 
the  religious  of  Confucius  and  Lao-tse,  that  neverthe- 
less partly  below  the  surface,  and  in  some  places  still 
on  the  surface,  more  primitive  forms  of  worship  have 
maintained  themselves.  I  mean  the  Shamanism  of  the 
Mongolian  race,  and  the  beautiful  half-Homeric  myth- 
ology of  the  Finnish  and  Esthonian  tribes. 

And  now  that  I  have  displayed  this  world-wide  pan- 
orama before  your  eyes,  you  will  share,  I  think,  the 
feeling  of  dismay  with  which  the  student  of  the  science 
of  religion  looks  around  and  asks  himself  where  to 
begin  and  how  to  proceed.  That  there  are  materials 
in  abundance,  capable  of  scientific  treatment,  no  one 
would  venture  to  deny.  But  how  are  they  to  be  held 
too-ether?  How  are  we  to  discover  what  all  these  re- 
ligions  share  in  common?  How  they  differ?  How 
they  rise  and  how  they  decline?  What  they  are  and 
what  they  mean  ? 

Let  us  take  tlie  old  saying.  Divide  et  impera^  and 
translate  it  somewhat  freely  by  "  Classify  and  con- 
quer," and  I  believe  we  shall  then  lay  hold  of  the  old 
thread  of  Ariadne  which  has  led  the  students  of  many 
a  science  throuo-h  darker  labyrinths  even  than  the  laby- 
rinth  of  the  religions  of  the  world.  All  real  science 
rests  on  classification,  and  only  in  case  we  cannot  suc- 
ceed in  classifyino;  the  various  dialects  of  faith  shall  we 
have  to  confess  that  a  science  of  religion  is  really  an 
impossibility.  If  the  ground  before  us  has  once  been 
properly  surveyed  and  carefully  parceled  out,  each 
scholar  may  then  cultivate  his  own  glebe,  without  wast- 
incr  his  enero-ies  and  without  losino;  siglit  of  the  general 


42  THE    SCIENCE   OF   RELIGION. 

purposes  to  which  all  special  researches  must  be  sub- 
servient. 

How,  then,  is  the  vast  domain  of  religion  to  be  par- 
celed out?  How  are  religions  to  be  classified,  or,  we 
ought  rather  to  ask  first,  how  have  they  been  classified 
before  now  ?  The  simplest  classification,  and  one 
which  we  find  adopted  in  almost  every  country,  is  that 
into  true  and  false  religions.  It  is  very  much  like  the 
first  classification  of  lancruao^es  into  one's  own  lano;uao;e 
and  the  lano-uase  of  the  rest  of  the  world ;  as  the 
Greeks  would  say,  into  the  languages  of  the  Greeks 
and  the  Barbarians  ;  or,  as  the  Jews  would  say,  into 
the  languages  of  the  Jews  and  the  Gentiles  ;  or,  as  the 
Hindus  would  say,  into  the  languages  of  the  Aryas 
and  MleMAas  ;  or,  as  the  Chinese  would  say,  into  the 
languages  of  the  Middle  Empire  and  that  of  the  Outer 
Barbarians.  I  need  not  say  why  that  sort  of  classifi- 
cation is  useless  for  scientific  purposes. 

There  is  another  classification,  apparently  of  a  more 
scientific  character,  but  if  examined  more  closely, 
equally  worthless  to  the  student  of  religion.  I  mean 
the  well-known  division  into  revealed  and  natural  re- 
ligions. 

I  have  first  to  say  a  few  words  on  the  meaning  at- 
tached to  Natural  Religion.  That  word  is  constantly 
used  in  very  different  acceptations.  It  is  ap})lied  by 
several  writers  to  certain  historical  forms  of  religion, 
whicli  are  looked  upon  as  not  resting  on  the  authority 
of  revelation,  in  whatever  sense  tliat  word  may  be 
hereafter  interpreted.  Thus  Buddhism  would  be  a 
natural  religion  in  the  eyes  of  the  Brahmans,  Brah- 
manism  would  be  a  natural  relio;ion  in  the  eyes  of  the 
Mohammedans.  With  us,  all  religions  except  Ciiristi- 
anity,  and,  though  in  a  lesser  degree,  Mosaism,  would 


SECOXD   LECTURE.  43 

be  classed  as  merely  natural ;  and  though  natural  does 
not  imply  false,  yet  it  distinctly  implies  the  absence  of 
any  sanction  beyond  t.lie  sense  of  truth,  or  the  voice  of 
conscience  that  is  within  us. 

But  Natural  ReHgion  is  also  used  in  a  very  different 
sense,  particularly  by  the  philosophers  of  the  la&t  cen- 
turv.  When  people  began  to  subject  the  principal 
historical  rehVions  to  a  critical  analysis,  they  found  that 
after  removing  what  was  peculiar  to  each,  there  re- 
mained certain  principles  which  they  all  shared  in  com- 
mon. These  were  supposed  to  be  the  principles  of 
Natural  Relio-ion.  Ao;ain,  when  everything  that  seemed 
supernatural,  miraculous,  and  irrational,  had  been  re- 
moved from  the  pages  of  the  New  Testament,  there 
still  remained  a  kind  of  skeleton  of  religion,  and  this 
too  was  passed  off  under  the  name  of  Natural  Relig- 
ion. During  the  last  century,  philosophers  who  were 
0})posing  the  spread  of  skepticism  and  infidelity, 
thought  that  this  kind  of  natural,  or,  as  it  was  also 
called,  rational  religion,  might  serve  as  a  breakwater 
against  utter  unbelief;  but  they  soon  found  out  that  a 
mere  philosophical  system,  however  true,  can  never 
take  the  place  of  religious  faith.  When  Diderot  said 
that  all  revealed  relio-ions  were  the  heresies  of  Natural 
Religion,  he  meant  by  Natural  Religion  a  body  of 
truths  implanted  in  human  nature,  to  be  discovered  by 
the  eye  of  reason  alone,  and  independent  of  any  such 
historical  or  local  influences  as  give  to  each  religion  its 
peculiar  character  and  local  aspect.  The  existence  of 
a  deity,  the  nature  of  his  attributes,  such  as  Omnipo- 
tence, Omniscience,  Omnipresence,  Eternity,  Self- ex- 
istence. Spirituality,  the  Goodness  also  of  the  Deity, 
and  connected  with  it,  the  admission  of  a  distinction 
between  Good  and  Evil,  between  Virtue  and  Vice,  all 


44  THE   SCIENCE   OF  RELIGION. 

this,  and  according  to  some  writers,  the  Unit}^  and  Per- 
sonality also  of  the  Deity,  were  included  in  the  domain 
of  Natural  Relicrion.  The  scientiHc  treatment  of  this 
so-callt-d  Natural  Reli«;ion  received  the  name  of  Natu- 
ral Theology,  a  title  rendered  famous  in  the  beginning 
of  our  century  by  the  much  praised  and  much  abused 
work  of  Paley.  Natural  Religion  correspcmds  in  the 
science  of  religion  to  what  in  the  science  of  lantruafije 
used  to  be  called  Grammaire  generals^  a  collection  of 
fundamental  rules  which  are  supposed  to  be  self-evi- 
dent, without  which  no  grammar  would  be  possible, 
but  which,  strange  to  say,  never  exist  in  their  purity 
and  comj)leteness  in  any  language  that  is  or  ever  has 
been  spoken  by  human  beings.  It  is  the  same  witli  re- 
ligion. There  never  has  been  anv  real  religion,  con- 
sisting  exclusively  of  the  pure  and  simple  tenets  of 
Natural  ReHgion,  thougli  tliere  have  bt'en  certain  phi- 
losophers who  brought  themselves  to  believe  that  their 
religion  was  entirely  rational, —  was,  in  fact,  pure  and 
simple  Deism. 

If  we  speak,  therefore,  of  a  classification  of  all  his- 
torical religions  into  revealed  and  natural,  what  is 
meant  by  natural  is  simj)ly  the  negation  of  revealed, 
and  if  we  tried  to  carry  out  the  classification  practi- 
cally, we  should  find  the  same  result  as  before.  We 
should  have  on  one  side  Christianity  alone,  or,  accord- 
ing to  some  theologians,  Christianity  and  Judaism  ;  on 
the  other,  all  the  remaining  religions  of  the  world. 

This  classification,  therefore,  whatever  may  be  its 
practical  value,  is  perfectly  useless  for  scientific  pur- 
poses. A  more  extended  study  shows  us  very  soon 
that  the  claim  of  revelation  is  set  up  by  the  founders, 
or  if  not  by  them,  at  all  events  by  the  later  preachers 
and  advocates  of  most  religions  ;  and  would  therefore 


SECOND   LECTURE.  45 

be  declined  by  all  but  ourselves  as  a  distinguishing  fea- 
ture of  Christianity  and  Judaism.  We  shall  see,  in 
fact,  that  the  claims  to  a  revealed  authority  are  urged 
far  more  strongly  and  elaborately  by  the  believers  in 
the  Veda,  than  by  the  ajmlogetical  theologians  among 
the  Jews  and  Christians.  Even  Buddha,  originally 
the  most  thoroughly  human  and  self-dependent  among 
the  founders  of  religion,  is  by  a  strange  kind  of  incon- 
sistency represented  in  later  controversial  writings,  as 
in  possession  of  revealed  truth.^  He  himself  could 
not,  like  Numa,  or  Zoroaster,  or  Mohammed,^  claim 
communication  with  higher  spirits  ;  still  less  could  he, 
like  the  poets  of  the  Veda,  speak  of  divine  insj)irations 
and  god-given  utterances:  for  according  to  him  there 
was  none  among  the  spirits  greater  or  wiser  than  him- 
self, and  the  gods  of  the  Veda  had  become  his  servants 
and  worshii)pers.  Buddha  himself  appeals  oidy  to 
what  we  should  call  the  inner  light.^  When  he  de- 
livered f)r  the  first  time  the  four  fundamental  doc- 
trines oF  his  system,  he  said,  ''  Mendicants,  for  the  at- 
tainment of  these  previously  unknown  doctrines,  the 
eye,  the  knowledge,  the  wisdom,  the  clear  perception, 
the  light  were  developed  within  me."  He  was  called 
Sarva^na  or  omniscient  by  his  earliest  pupils  ;  but 
when  in  later  times  it  was  seen  that  on  several  points 
Buddha  had  but  spoken  the  language  of  his  age,  and 
had  shared  the  errors  current  among  his  contempora- 
ries with  regard  to  the  shape  of  the  earth  and  the 
movement  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  an  important  con- 
cession   was    made    by   Buddnist   theologians.     They 

1  History  of  Ancient  Sanskrit  Literature,hj  Max  Miiller,  p.  83. 

2  Sprenojer,  Mohammed,  vol.  ii.  p.  426. 

3  Gogerly,  The  Evidences  and  Doctrines  of  Christian  Religion.     Co 
lombo,  1862.     Part  i. 


46  THE   SCIENCE   OF    RELIGION. 

limited  the  meaning  of  the  word  "  omniscient,"  as  ap- 
plied to  Buddha,  to  a  knowledge  of  the  principal  doc- 
trines of  his  system,  and  concerning  these,  but  these 
only,  they  declared  him  to  have  been  infallible. 
This  ma}^  seem  to  be  a  modern  kind  of  view,  but 
whether  modern  or  ancient,  it  certainly  reflects  great 
credit  on  the  Buddhist  theoloo;ians.  In  the  Milinda 
Prasna,  however,  which  is  a  canonical  book,  Ave  see 
that  the  same  idea  was  already  rising  in  the  mind  of 
the  great  Nagasena.  Being  asked  by  King  Milinda 
whether  Buddha  is  omniscient,  he  replies  :  ''  Yes, 
Great  King,  the  blessed  Buddha  is  omniscient.  But 
Buddha  does  not  at  all  times  exercise  his  omniscience. 
By  meditation  he  knows  all  things  ;  meditating  he 
knows  everything  he  desires  to  know."  In  this  reply 
a  distinction  is  evidently  intended  between  subjects 
that  may  be  known  by  sense  and  reason,  and  subjects 
that  can  be  known  by  meditation  only.  Within  the 
domain  of  sense  and  reason,  Nagasena  does  not  claim 
omniscience  or  infallibility  for  Buddha,  but  he  claims 
for  him  both  omniscience  and  infallibility  in  all  that 
is  to  be  perceived  by  meditation  only,  or,  as  we  should 
say,  in  matters  of  faith. 

I  shall  have  to  explain  to  you  hereafter  the  extraor- 
dinary contrivances  by  which  the  Brahmans  endeav- 
ored to  eliminate  every  human  element  from  the  hymns 
of  the  Veda,  and  to  establish,  not  only  the  revealed, 
but  the  prehistoric  or  even  antemundane  character 
of  their  scriptures.  No  apologetic  writings  have  ever 
carried  the  theory  of  revelation  to  greater  extremes. 

In  the  present  stage  of  our  inquiries,  all  that  I  wish 
to  point  out  is  this,  —  that  when  the  founders  or  de- 
fenders of  nearly  all  the  religions  of  the  world  appeal 
to  some  kind  of  revelation  in  support  of  the  truth  of 


SECOND  LECTURE.  47 

their  doctrines,  it  could  answer  no  useful  purpose  were 
we  to  attempt  any  classification  on  such  disputed 
ground.  Whether  the  claim  of  a  natural  or  preter- 
natural revelation,  put  forward  by  different  religions,  is 
well  founded  or  not,  is  not  the  question  at  present.  It 
falls  to  the  province  of  Theoretic  Theology  to  explain 
the  true  meaning  of  revelation,  for  few  words  have 
been  used  so  vaguely  and  in  so  many  different  senses. 
It  falls  to  its  province  to  explain,  not  only  how  the  veil 
was  withdrawn  that  intercepted  for  a  time  the  rays  of 
divine  truth,  but  what  is  a  far  more  difficult  problem, 
how  there  could  ever  have  been  a  veil  between  truth 
and  the  seeker  of  truth,  between  the  adoring  heart  and 
the  object  of  the  highest  adoration,  between  the  Father 
and  his  children. 

In  Comparative  Theology  our  task  is  different :  we 
have  simply  to  deal  with  the  facts  such  as  we  find 
them.  If  people  regard  their  religion  as  revealed,  it  is 
to  them  a  revealed  reliojion,  and  has  to  be  treated  as 
such  by  an  impartial  historian.  We  cannot  determine 
a  question  by  adopting,  without  discussion,  the  claims 
of  one  party,  and  ignoring  those  of  the  other. 

But  this  principle  of  classification  into  revealed  and 
natural  religions  appears  still  more  faulty,  when  we 
look  at  it  from  another  point  of  view.  Even  if  we 
granted  that  all  religions,  except  Christianity  and  Mo- 
saism,  derived  their  origin  from  those  faculties  of  the 
mind  only  which,  according  to  Paley,  are  sufficient  by 
themselves  for  calling  into  life  the  fundamental  tenets 
of  what  we  explained  before  as  natural  religion,  the 
classification  of  Christianity  and  Judaism  on  one  side 
as  revealed^ .  and  of  the  other  religions  as  natural^ 
would  still  be  defective,  for  the  simple  reason  that  no 
religion,  though  founded  on  revelation,  can  ever  be  en- 


48  THE   SCIENCE   OF  RELIGION. 

tirely  separated  from  natural  religion.  The  tenets  of 
natural  religion,  though  by  themselves  they  never  con- 
stituted a  real  historical  religion,  supply  the  only 
ground  on  which  revealed  religion  can  stand,  the  only 
soil  where  it  can  strike  root,  and  from  which  it  can  re- 
ceive nourishment  and  life.  If  we  took  away  that  soil, 
or  if  we  supposed  that  it,  too,  had  to  be  supplied  by 
revelation,  we  should  not  oidy  run  counter  to  the  letter 
and  spirit  of  the  Old  and  the  New  Testament,  but  we 
should  degrade  revealed  reliixion  by  chano-jnti-  it  into  a 
mere  formula,  to  be  accepted  by  a  recipient  incaj)able 
of  questioning,  weighing,  and  appreciating  its  truth  ; 
we  should  indeed  have  the  germ,  but  we  should  have 
thrown  away  the  congenial  soil  in  which  alone  that 
germ  of  true  religion  can  live  and  o^row. 

Christianity,  addressing  itself  not  only  to  the  Jews, 
but  also  to  the  Gentiles,  not  only  to  the  ignoi-ant,  but 
also  to  the  learned,  not  only  to  the  believers,  but  in 
the  first  instance,  to  the  unbeliever,  presupj)osed  in  all 
of  them  the  elements  of  natural  religion,  and  with 
them  the  power  of  choosing  between  truth  and  un- 
truth. Thus  only  could  St.  Paul  say  :  *'  Prove  all 
thinors  ;  hold  fast  that  which  is  good."  ( 1  Thess. 
v.  21.) 

The  same  is  true  with  regard  to  the  Old  Testament. 
There,  too,  the  belief  in  a  Deity,  and  in  some  at  least 
of  its  indefeasible  attributes,  is  taken  for  granted,  and 
the  prophets  who  call  the  w^ayward  Jews  back  to  the 
worship  of  Jehovah,  appeal  to  them  as  competent,  by 
the  truth-testing  power  that  is  within  them,  to  choose 
between  Jehovah  and  the  gods  of  the  Gentiles,  between 
truth  and  untruth.  Remember  only  the  important 
chapter  in  the  earliest  history  of  the  Jews,  when 
Joshua  gathered  all  the  tribes  of  Israel  to  Shechem, 


SECOND   LECTURE.  49 

and  called  for  the  elders  of  Israel,  and  for  their  neads, 
and  for  their  judges,  and  for  their  officers ;  and  they 
presented  themselves  before  God. 

''  And  Joshua  said  unto  all  the  people:  Thus  saith 
the  Lord  God  of  Israel :  Your  fathers  dwelt  on  the 
other  side  of  the  flood  in  old  time,  even  Terah,  the 
father  of  Abraham,  and  the  father  of  Nachor;  and 
they  served  otlier  gods." 

And  then,  after  reminding  them  of  all  that  God  has 
done  for  them,  he  concludes  by  saying :  — 

"  Now,  therefore,  fear  the  Lord,  and  serve  Him  in 
sincerity  and  in  truth  ;  and  put  away  the  gods  wliich 
your  fatliers  served  on  the  other  side  of  the  flood,  and 
in  Egypt,  and  serve  ye  the  Lord. 

"  And  if  it  seem  evil  unto  you  to  serve  the  Lord, 
choose  you  this  day  whom  ye  will  serve ;  whether  the 
gods  which  your  fathers  served  that  were  on  the  other 
side  of  the  flood,  or  the  gods  of  the  Amorites  in  whose 
lands  ye  dwell ;  but  as  for  me  and  my  house,  we  will 
serve  the  Lord." 

In  order  to  choose  between  different  gods  and  differ- 
ent forms  of  faith,  a  man  must  possess  the  faculty  of 
choosing,  the  Instruments  of  testing  truth  and  untruth, 
whether  revealed  or  not  ;  he  must  know  that  certain 
fundamental  tenets  cannot  be  absent  In  any  true  rehV- 
ion,  and  that  there  are  doctrines  against  which  his  ra- 
tional or  moral  conscience  revolts  as  incompatible  with 
truth.  In  short,  there  must  be  the  foundation  of  relig- 
ion, there  must  be  the  solid  rock,  before  it  is  possible 
to  erect  an  altar,  a  temple,  or  a  church  ;  and  if  we  call 
that  foundation  natural  religion,  it  is  clear  that  no  re- 
vealed religion  can  be  thought  of  which  does  not  rest 
more  or  less  firmly  on  natural  religion. 

These  difficulties  have  been  felt  distinctly  by  some 


50  THE   SCIENCE   OF  EELIGION. 

of  our  most  learned  divnnes,  who  have  attempted  a 
classification  of  religions  from  their  own  point  of  view. 
New  definitions  of  natural  religion  have  therefore  been 
proposed  in  order  to  avoid  the  overlapping  of  the  two 
definitions  of  natural  and  revealed  reliixion.  Natural 
religion  has,  for  instance,  been  explained  as  the  relig- 
ion of  nature  before  revelation,  such  as  may  be  sup- 
posed to  have  existed  among  the  patriarchs,  or  to  exist 
still  among  primitive  people  who  have  not  yet  been 
enlightened  by  Christianity  or  debased  by  idolatry. 

According  to  this  view  w^e  should  have  to  distinguish, 
not  two,  but  three  classes  of  religion  :  the  primitive  or 
natural,  the  debased  or  idolatrous,  and  the  revealed. 
But,  as  pointed  out  before,  the  first,  tiie  so-called  prim- 
itive or  natural  religion,  exists  in  the  minds  of  modern 
philosophers  rather  than  of  ancient  poets  and  prophets. 
History  never  tells  us  of  any  race  with  whom  the  sim- 
ple feeling  of  reverence  for  higher  powers  was  not 
hidden  under  mythological  disguises.  Nor  would  it  be 
possible  even  thus  to  separate  the  three  classes  of  relig- 
ion by  sharp  and  definite  lines  of  demarcation,  because 
both  the  debased  or  idolatrous  and  tlie  purified  or  re- 
vealed religions  would,  of  necessity,  include  within 
themselves  the  elements  of  natural  religion.  Nor  do 
w^e  diminish  these  difficulties  in  the  classificatory  stage 
of  our  science,  if,  in  the  place  of  this  simple  natural 
religion,  we  admit  with  other  theologians  and  philoso- 
phers, a  universal  primeval  revelation.  This  universal 
primeval  revelation  is  only  another  name  for  natural 
religion,  and  it  rests  on  no  authority  but  the  specula- 
tions of  philosophers.  The  same  class  of  philosophers, 
considering  that  lano-uao-e  was  too  wonderful  an  achieve- 
ment  for  the  human  mind,  insisted  on  the  necessity  of 
admitting  a  universal  primeval  language  revealed  di- 


SECOND   LECTURE.  51 

rectly  by  God  to  man,  or  rather  to  mute  beings  ;  while 
the  more  thoughtful  and  the  more  reverent  among  the 
Fathers  of  the  Church  and  among  the  founders  of  mod- 
ern philosophy  pointed  out  that  it  was  more  consonant 
with  the  general  working  of  an  all-wise  and  all-power- 
ful Creator,  that  he  should  have  endowed  human  na- 
ture with  germinant  faculties  of  speech,  instead  of  pre- 
sentino;  mute  beino;s  with  grammars  and  dictionaries 
ready  made.  Is  an  infant  less  wonderful  than  a  man  ? 
an  acorn  less  wonderful  than  an  oak-tree  ?  a  cell,  if  you 
like,  or  a  protoplasm,  including  potentially  within  itself 
all  that  it  has  to  become  hereafter,  less  wonderful  than 
all  the  moving  creatures  that  have  life  ?  The  same 
applies  in  religion.  A  univ^ersal  primeval  religion  re- 
vealed direct  by  God  to  man,  or  rather  to  a  crowd  of 
atheists,  may,  to  our  human  wisdom,  seem  the  best 
solution  of  all  difficulties;  but  a  higher  wisdom  speaks 
to  us  from  out  the  realities  of  history,  and  teaches  us, 
if  we  will  but  learn,  that  "  we  have  all  to  seek  the 
Lord,  if  haply  we  may  feel  after  Him,  and  find  Him, 
though  he  be  not  far  from  every  one  of  us." 

Of  the  hypothesis  of  a  universal  primeval  revelation 
and  all  its  self-created  difficulties  we  shall  have  to  speak 
again  ;  for  the  present  it  must  suffice  if  we  have  shown 
that  the  problem  of  a  scientific  classification  of  religion 
is  not  brought  nearer  to  its  solution  by  the  additional 
assumption  of  another  purely  hypothetical  class  of  re- 
licrion. 

We  have  not  finished  yet.  A  very  important,  and, 
for  certain  purposes,  very  useful  classification  has  been 
that  into  polytheistic,  dualistic,  and  monotheistic  relig- 
ions. If  religion  rests  chiefly  on  a  belief  in  a  Higher 
Power,  then  the  nature  of  that  Higher  Power  would 
seem  to  supply  a  very  characteristic  feature  by  which  to 


62  THE   SCIENCE  OF  RELIGION.  „ 

classify  the  religions  of  tlie  world.  Nor  do  I  deny  that 
for  certain  purposes  such  a  classification  has  proved 
useful  ;  all  I  maintain  is  that  we  should  thus  have  to 
class  tocrether  religions  heterogeneous  in  other  respects, 
though  agreeing  in  the  number  of  their  deities.  Be- 
sides, it  would  certainly  be  necessary  to  add  two  other 
classes  —  the  henotheistic  and  the  atheistic.  Henothe- 
istic  religi(ms  differ  from  polytheistic  because,  although 
they  recognize  the  existence  of  various  deities,  or  names 
of  deities,  they  represent  each  deity  as  independent  of 
all  the  rest,  as  the  only  deity  present  in  the  mind  of  the 
worshipper  at  the  time  of  his  worship  and  prayer.  This 
character  is  very  prominent  in  the  religion  of  the  Vedic 
poets.  Although  many  gods  are  invoked  in  different 
hymns,  sometimes  also  in  the  same  hynm,  yet  there  is 
no  rule  of  precedence  established  among  them  ;  and, 
according  to  the  varying  aspects  of  nature,  and  the 
various  cravings  of  the  human  heart,  it  is  sometimes 
Indra,  the  god  of  the  blue  sky,  sometimes  Agni,  the 
god  of  fire,  sometimes  Varuiza,  the  ancient  god  of  the 
firmament,  who  are  praised  as  supreme  without  any 
suspicion  of  rivalry,  or  any  idea  of  subordination.  This 
peculiar  phase  of  religion,  this  worship  of  single  gods, 
forms  probably  everywhere  the  first  stage  in  the  growth 
of  polytheism,  and  deserves  therefore  a  separate  name. 
As  to  atheistic  religions,  they  might  seem  to  be  per- 
fectly impossible  ;  and  yet  the  fact  cannot  be  disputed 
awav  that  the  relimon  of  Buddha  was  from  the  becjin- 
ning  purely  atheistic.  The  idea  of  the  Godhead,  after 
it  had  been  degraded  by  endless  mythological  absurdi- 
ties which  struck  and  repelled  the  heart  of  Buddha, 
was,  for  a  time  at  least,  entirely  expelled  from  the 
sanctuary  of  the  human  mind  ;  and  the  highest  moral- 
ity that  was  ever  taught  before  the  rise  of  Christianity 


SECOND  LECTURE.  53 

was  taucrlit  by  men  with  whom  the  gods  had  become 
mere  phantoms,  and  who  had  no  altars,  not  even  an 
altar  to  the  Unknown  God. 

It  will  be  the  object  of  my  next  lecture  to  show  that 
the  only  scientific  and  truly  genetic  classification  of 
religions  is  the  same  as  the  classificaticm  of  languages, 
and  that,  particularly  in  the  early  history  of  the  human 
intellect,  there  exists  the  most  intimate  relationship  be- 
tween language,  religion,  and  nationality  —  a  relation- 
ship quite  independent  of  those  physical  elements,  the 
blood,  the  skull,  or  the  hair,  on  which  ethnologists  have 
attempted  to  found  their  classification  of  the  human 
race. 


THIED   LECTURE. 


FF  we  approached  the  reliorions  of  mankind  without 
*-  any  prejudices  or  predilections,  in  that  frame  of 
mind  in  whicli  the  lover  of  truth  or  tlie  man  of  science 
ought  to  approach  every  subject,  I  beh'eve  we  sliould 
not  be  long  before  recognizing  the  natural  lines  of  de- 
markation  which  divide  the  whole  relio-ious  world  into 
several  great  continents.  I  am  speaking,  of  course,  of 
ancient  religions  only,  or  of  the  earliest  period  in  the 
history  of  religious  thought.  In  that  primitive  period 
which  might  be  called,  if  not  prehistoric,  at  least 
purely  ethnic,  because  what  we  know  of  it  consists  only 
in  the  creneral  movements  of  nations,  and  not  in  the 
acts  of  individuals,  of  parties,  or  of  states, — in  that 
primitive  period,  I  say,  nations  have  been  called  lan- 
guages ;  and  in  our  best  works  on  the  ancient  history 
of  mankind,  a  map  of  languages  has  actually  taken  the 
place  of  a  map  of  nations.  But  during  the  same 
primitive  period  nations  might  with  equal  right  be 
called  religions ;  for  there  is  at  that  time  the  same, 
nay,  an  even  more  intimate,  relationship  between  re- 
ligion and  nationality  as  between  language  and  nation- 
ality. In  order  clearly  to  explain  my  meaning,  I  shall 
have  to  refer,  as  shortly  as  possible,  to  the  speculations 
of  some  German  philosophers  on  the  true  relation  be- 
tween language,  religion,  and  nationality, — specula- 
tions which  have  as  yet  received  less  attention  on  the 


THIRD   LECTURE.  55 

part  of  modern  ethnologists  tlian  they  seem  to  me  to 
deserve. 

It  was  Schellinof,  one  of  the  profoundest  thinkers  of 
Gei-maiiy,  wlio  first  asked  the  question,  What  makes 
an  ethnos  ?  What  is  the  true  origin  of  a  people  ? 
How  (lid  human  beings  become  a  people  ?  And  the 
answer  whicli  he  gave,  though  it  sounded  startling  to 
me  wiien,  in  1845, 1  listened,  at  Berhn,  to  the  lectures 
of  the  old  philosopher,  has  been  confirmed  more  and 
more  by  subsequent  researches  into  the  history  of  lan- 
guage and  religion. 

To  say  that  man  is  a  gregarious  animal,  and  that, 
like  swarms  of  bees,  or  herds  of  wild  elephants,  men 
keep  together  instinctively  and  thus  form  themselves 
into  a  people,  is  saying  very  little.  It  might  ex])lain 
the  agglomeration  of  one  large  flock  of  human  beings, 
but  it  would  never  exi)lain  the  formation  of  individual 
peoples. 

Nor  should  we  advance  much  towards  a  solution  of 
our  ])roblem  if  we  were  told  that  men  are  broken  up 
into  peoples  as  bees  are  broken  up  into  swarms,  by  fol- 
lowing different  queens,  by  owing  allegiance  to  dif- 
ferent s-overnments.  Allegiance  to  the  same  govern- 
ment,  particularly  in  ancient  times,  is  the  result  rather 
than  tlie  cause  of  nationality ;  while  in  historical  times, 
such  has  been  the  confusion  produced  by  extraneous 
influences,  by  brute  force,  or  dynastic  combinations, 
that  the  natural  development  of  peoples  has  been  en- 
tirely arrested,  and  we  frequently  find  one  and  the 
same  people  divided  by  different  governments,  and  dif- 
ferent peoples  united  under  the  same  ruler. 

Our  question.  What  makes  a  people  ?  has  to  be 
considered  in  reference  to  the  most  ancient  times. 
How  did  men  form  themselves  into  a  people    before 


66  THE  SCIENCE   OF  RELIGION. 

there  were  kings  or  shepherds  of  men  !  Was  it  through 
connmmity  of  blood?  I  doubt  it.  Community  of 
blood  produces  families,  clans,  possibly  races,  but  it 
does  not  produce  that  higher  and  purely  moral  feeling 
which  binds  men  together  and  makes  them  a  people. 

It  is  language  and  religion  that  make  a  people,  but 
religion  is  even  a  more  powerful  agent  than  language. 
The  languages  of  many  of  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of 
Nuithern  America  are  but  dialectic  varieties  of  one 
type,  but  those  who  spoke  these  dialects  have  never 
coalesced  into  a  people.  They  remained  mere  clans  or 
wandeiino;  tribes;  thev  never  knew  the  feelino;  of  a 
nation  because  they  never  knew  the  feeling  of  worship- 
ping the  same  gods.  The  Greeks,  on  the  contrary, 
though  speaking  their  strongly  marked,  and  I  doubt 
whether  nmtually  intelligible  dialects,  the  -^olic,  the 
Doric,  the  Ionic,  felt  themselves  at  all  times,  even 
when  ruled  by  different  tyrants,  or  broken  up  into  nu- 
merous republics,  as  one  great  Hellenic  people.  What 
was  it,  then,  that  preserved  in  their  hearts,  in  spite  of 
dialects,  in  spite  of  dynasties,  in  spite  even  of  the 
feuds  of  tribes  and  the  jealousies  of  states,  the  deep 
feeling  of  that  ideal  unity  which  constitutes  a  people? 
It  was  their  primitive  religiim  ;  it  was  a  dim  recollection 
of  the  common  allegiance  they  owed  from  time  imme- 
morial to  the  great  father  of  gods  and  men  ;  it  was  their 
belief  in  the  old  Zeus  of  Dodona,  in  the  Panhellenic 
Zous. 

Perhaps  the  most  signal  confirmation  of  this  view 
that  it  is  religion  even  more  than  language  which  sup- 
plies the  foundation  of  nationality,  is  to  be  found  in 
the  history  of  the  Jews,  the  chosen  people  of  God. 
The  lancruage  of  the  Jews  differed  from  that  of  the 
Phenicians,  the  Moabites,  and  the  other  neighboring 


THIRD   LECTURE.  57 

tribes  much  less  than  tlie  Greek  dialects  clifFered  from 
each  other.  But  the  worship  of  Jehovah  made  the 
Jews  a  pecidiar  people,  the  people  of  Jehovah,  sepa- 
rated by  their  God,  though  not  by  their  language, 
from  the  people  of  Chemosh  (the  Moabites)^  and  from 
the  worshippers  of  Baal  and  Ashtoreth.  It  was  their 
faith  in  Jeliovah  that  chano;ed  the  wanderinoj  tribes  of 
Israel  into  a  nation. 

*' A  peopl?,"  as  Schelling  says,  "exists  only  when 
it  has  determined  itself  with  regard  to  its  mythology. 
Tiiis  mythology,  therefore,  carmot  take  its  origin  after 
a  national  separation  has  taken  place,  after  a  people 
has  become  a  people  ;  nor  could  it  spring  up  while  a 
people  was  still  contained  as  an  invisible  part  in  the 
whole  of  humanity  ;  but  its  origin  must  be  referred  to 
that  very  period  of  transition  before  a  people  has  as- 
sumed its  definite  existence,  and  when  it  is  on  the  point 
of  separating  and  constituting  itself  The  same  applies 
to  the  language  of  a  people  ;  it  becomes  definite  at  the 
same  time  that  a  people  becomes  definite."  ^ 

Hegel,  the  great  rival  of  Schelling,  arrived  at  the 
same  conclusion.  In  his  **  Philosophy  of  History  "  he 
says :  "  The  idea  of  God  constitutes  the  general  foun- 
dation of  a  people.  Whatever  is  the  form  of  a  re- 
ligion, the  same  is  the  form  of  a  state  and  its  constitu- 
tion ;  it  springs  from  religion,  so  much  so  that  the 
Athenian  and  the  Roman  states  were  possible  only 
with  the  peculiar  heathendom  of  those  peoples,  and 
that  even  now  a  Roman  Catholic  state  has  a  different 
genius  and  a  different  constitution  from  a  Protestant 
state.     The  genius  of  a  people  is  a  definite,  individ- 

1  Numb.  xxi.  29  ;  Jer.  xlviii.  7  :  "  And  Chemosh  shall  go  forth  into 
captivity,  with  his  priests  and  his  princes  together." 

2  Vorlesungen  uber  Philosophie  der  Mythologie,  vol  L  p.  107,  seq. 


58  THE   SCIENCE   OF   RELIGION. 

ual  genius,  which  becomes  conscious  of  its  individual- 
ity in  different  spheres  ;  in  the  character  of  its  moral 
life,  its  political  constitution,  its  art,  religion  and  sci- 
ence." 1 

But  this  is  not  an  idea  of  philosophers  only.  His- 
torians, and  more  particularly  the  students  of  the 
history  of  law,  have  arrived  at  very  much  the  same 
conclusion.  Though  to  many  of  them  law  seems  nat- 
ui-ally  to  be  the  foundation  of  society,  and  the  bond 
that  binds  a  nation  together,  those  who  look  below  the 
surface  have  quickly  perceived  that  law  itself,  at  least 
ancient  law,  derives  its  authority,  its  force,  its  very 
life  from  religion.  Mr.  Maine  is  no  doubt  right  when, 
in  the  case  of  the  so-called  Laws  of  Manu,  lie  rejects 
the  idea  of  the  Deity  dictating  an  entire  code  or  body 
of  law,  as  an  idea  of  decidedly  modern  origin.  Yet 
the  belief  that  the  lawgiver  enjoyed  some  closer  inti- 
macy with  the  Deity  than  ordinary  mortals,  pervades 
the  ancient  traditions  of  many  nations.  According  to 
a  well-known  passage  in  Diod()rus  Siculus,^  "  the  Egyp- 
tians believed  their  laws  to  have  been  communicated 
to  Mnevis  by  Hermes  ;  the  Cretans  held  that  Minos 
received  his  laws  from  Zeus,  the  Lacedaemonians  that 
Lykurgos  received  his  laws  from  ApoUon.  According 
to  the  Aryans,  their    lawgiver,  Zathraustes,  had    re- 

1  Though  these  words  of  Hegel's  were  published  long  before  Schel- 
ling's  lectures,  they  seem  to  me  to  breathe  the  spirit  of  Schelling 
rather  than  of  Hegel,  and  it  is  but  fair  therefore  to  state  that  Schel- 
ling's  lectures,  though  not  published,  were  printed  and  circulated 
among  friends  twenty  years  before  they  were  delivered  at  Berlin.  The 
question  of  priority  may  seem  of  little  importance  on  matters  such  as 
these,  but  there  is  nevertheless  much  truth  in  Schelling's  remark,  that 
philosophy  advances  not  so  much  by  the  answers  given  to  difficult 
problems,  as  by  the  starting  of  new  problems,  and  by  asking  questions 
wliich  no  one  else  would  think  of  asking. 

2  L.  i.  c.  94. 


THIRD   LECTURE.  59 

celved  his  laws  from  the  Good  Spirit ;  according  to 
the  GetaB,  Zamolxis  received  his  laws  from  the  goddess 
Hestia ;  and,  according  to  the  Jews,  Moses  received 
his  laws  from  the  god  lao."  No  one  has  pointed  out 
more  forcibly  tlian  Mr.  Maine  that  in  ancient  times 
religion  as  a  divine  influence  was  underlying  and  sup- 
porting every  relation  of  life  and  every  social  institu- 
tion. "  A  supernatural  presidency,"  he  writes,  "  is 
supposed  to  consecrate  and  keep  together  all  the  cai'- 
dinal  institutions  of  those  early  times,  the  state,  the 
race,  and  the  family."  ^  ''  The  elementary  group  is 
the  family  ;  the  aggregation  of  families  forms  the  gens 
or  the  house.  The  aggregation  of  houses  makes  the 
tribe.  The  ao;o;reo;ation  of  tribes  constitutes  the  com- 
monwealth."^  Now  the  family  is  held  together  by 
the  family  sacra?  and  so  were  the  gens,  the  tribe,  and 
the  commonwealth  ;  and  strangers  could  only  be  ad- 
mitted to  these  brotherhoods  by  being  admitted  to  their 
sacra.^  At  a  later  time,  law  breaks  away  from  re- 
ligion,^ but  even  then  many  traces  remain  to  show 
that  the  hearth  was  the  first  altar,  the  father  the  first 
elder,  his  wife  and  children  and  slaves  the  first  con- 
gregation gathered  together  round  the  sacred  fire,  — 
the  Hestia,  the  goddess  of  the  house,  and  in  the  end 
the  goddess  of  the  people.  To  the  present  day  mar- 
riage, the  most  important  of  civil  acts,  the  very  founda- 
tion of  civilized  life,  has  retained  the  religious  charac- 
ter which  it  had  from  the  very  beginning  of  history. 

Let  us  see  now  what  religion  really  is  in  those  early 
ages  of  which  we  are  here  speaking  ;  I  do  not  mean 
religion  as  a  silent  power,  working  in  the  heart  of 
man  ;  I  mean  religion  in  its  outward  appearance,  re- 
ligion as  something  outspoken,  tangible,  and  definite, 
1  Page  6.      2  Page  128.      '^  Page  191.       *  Page  131.       &  Page  193. 


60  THE   SCIENCE   OF   RELIGION. 

that  can  be  described  and  communicated  to  others. 
We  sliall  find  that  in  tliat  sense  religion  lies  within 
a  very  small  compass.  A  few  words,  recognized  as 
names  of  the  deity  ;  a  few  epithets  that  have  been 
raised  from  their  material  meanincr  to  a  hiijher  and 
more  spiritual  stage,  I  mean  words  which  expressed 
originally  bodily  strength,  or  brightness,  or  purity,  and 
which  came  gradually  to  mean  greatness,  goodness, 
and  holiness;  lastly,  some  more  or  less  technical  terms 
expressive  of  such  ideas  as  sacrifice.^  altar^  prayer^ 
possibly  virtue  and  sm,  body  and  spirit,  —  that  is  what 
constitutes  the  outward  framework  of  the  incipient  re- 
ligions of  antiquity.  If  we  look  at  this  simple  mani- 
festation of  religion,  we  see  at  once  why  religion,  dur- 
mg  those  early  ages  of  which  we  are  here  sj)eaking, 
may  really  and  truly  be  called  a  sacred  dialect  of  hu- 
man speech  ;  how  at  all  events  early  religion  and  early 
language  are  most  intimately  connected,  religion  de- 
pending entirely  for  its  outward  expression  on  the 
more  or  less  adequate  resources  of  language. 

If  this  dependence  of  earty  religion  on  language  is 
once  clearly  understood,  it  follows,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  that  whatever  classification  has  been  found 
most  useful  in  the  science  of  language  ought  to  prove 
equally  useful  in  the  science  of  religion.  If  there  is  a 
truly  genetic  relationship  of  languages,  the  same  rela- 
tionship ought  to  hold  together  the  religions  of  the 
world,  at  least  the  most  ancient  religions. 

Before  we  proceed  therefore  to  consider  the  proper 
classification  of  religions,  it  will  be  necessary  to  say  a 
few  words  on  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge  with 
regard  to  the  genetic  relationship  of  languages. 

If  we  confine  ourselves  to  the  Asiatic  continent  with 
its  important  peninsula  of  Europe,  we  find  that  in  the 


THIRD   LECTURE.       .  61 

vast  desert  of  drifting  human  speech  three  and  only- 
three  oases  have  been  formed  in  vvliich,  before  the  be- 
ginning of  all  history,  language  became  permanent 
and  traditional,  assumed  in  fact  a  new  cliaracter,  a 
character  totally  different  from  the  original  character 
of  the  floating  and  constantly  varying  speech  of  human 
beino-s.  These  three  oases  of  language  are  known  by 
the  name  of  Turanian,  Aryan,  and  Semitic.  In  tiiese 
three  centres,  more  particularly  in  the  Aryan  and  Se- 
mitic, language  ceased  to  be  natural  ;  its  growth  was 
arrested,  and  it  became  permanent,  solid,  petrified,  or, 
if  you  like,  historical  speech.  I  have  always  main- 
tained that  this  centralization  and  traditional  conserva- 
tion of  language  could  oidy  have  been  the  result  of 
relicnous  and  political  influences,  and  I  now  mean  to 
show  that  we  really  have  clear  evidence  of  three  inde- 
pendent settlements  of  religion,  the  Turanian,  the 
Arya7i,  and  the  Semitic,  concomitantly  with  the  three 
great  settlements  of  language. 

Taking  Chinese  for  what  it  can  hardly  any  longer 
be  doubted  that  it  is,  namely,  the  earliest  representative 
of  Turanian  speech,  we  find  in  China  an  ancient  col- 
orless and  unpoetical  religion,  a  religion  we  might 
almost  venture  to  call  monosyllabic,  consisting  of  the 
worship  of  a  host  of  single  spirits,  representing  the 
sky,  the  sun,  storms  and  lightning,  mountains  and  riv- 
ers, one  standing  by  the  side  of  the  other  without  any 
mutual  attraction,  without  any  higher  principle  to  hold 
them  together.  In  addition  to  this,  we  likewise  meet 
in  China  with  the  worship  of  ancestral  spirits,  the 
spirits  of  the  departed,  who  are  supposed  to  retain 
some  cognizance  of  human  affairs,  and  to  possess  pe- 
cuUar  powers  which  they  exercise  for  good  or  for  evil. 
This  double  worship  of  human  and  of  natural  spirits 


62  THE   SCIENCE   OF   RELIGION. 

constitutes  the  old  popular  religion  of  China,  and  it 
has  lived  on  to  the  present  day,  at  least  in  the  lower 
ranks  of  society,  thougli  there  towers  above  it  a  more 
elevated  range  of  half  religious  and  half  philosophical 
faith,  a  belief  in  two  higher  Powers,  which,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  philosophy,  may  mean  Form  and  Matter^  in 
the  language  of  Ethics,  Grood  and  EviU  but  which  in 
the  original  language  of  religion  and  mythology  are 
represented  as  Heaven  and  Earth. 

It  is  true  that  we  know  tlie  ancient  popular  religion 
of  Cliina  from  the  works  of  Confucius  only,  or  from 
even  more  modern  sources.  But  Confucius,  though 
he  is  called  the  founder  of  a  new  religion,  was  really 
but  the  new  preacher  of  an  old  religion.  He  was  em- 
phatically a  transmitter,  not  a  maker.^  He  says  him- 
self, "  I  only  hand  on  ;  I  cannot  create  new  things. 
I  believe  in  the  ancients,  and  therefore  I  love  them."^ 

We  find,  secondly,  the  ancient  worship  of  the 
Semitic  races  clearly  marked  by  a  number  of  names 
of  the  Deity,  which  appear  in  the  polytheistic  religions 
of  the  Babylonians,  the  Phenicians,  and  Carthagin- 
ians, as  well  as  in  the  monotheistic  creeds  of  Jews, 
Christians,  and  Mohammedans.  It  is  almost  impos- 
sible to  characterize  tlie  religion  of  people  so  different 
from  each  other  in  language,  in  literature,  and  general 
civilization,  so  different  also  from  themselves  at  dif- 
ferent periods  of  their  history  ;  but  if  I  ventured  to 
characterize  the  worship  of  all  the  Semitic  nations  by 
one  word,  I  should  say  it  was  preeminently  a  worship 
of  God  in  History.,  of  God  as  affecting  the  destinies 
of  individuals  and  races  and  nations  rather  than  of 
God  as  wielding  the  powers  of  nature.    The  names  of 

1  Dr.  Legge,  Life  of  Confucius,  p.  96. 

^  Lun-yu  (§  i.  a.) ;  Schott,  Chinesische  Literatur,  p.  7. 


THIRD   LECTURE.  G3 

the  Semitic  deities  are  mostly  words  expressive  of 
moral  qualities  ;  they  mean  the  Strong,  the  Exalted, 
the  Lord,  the  King  ;  and  tliey  grow  but  seldom  into 
divine  personalities,  definite  in  their  outward  appear- 
ance, or  easily  to  be  recognized  by  strongly  marked 
features  of  a  real  dramatic  character.  Hence  many 
of  the  ancient  Semitic  gods  have  a  tendency  to  flow 
together,  and  a  transition  from  the  worship  of  single 
gods  to  the  worship  of  one  God  required  no  great 
effort.  In  the  monotonous  desert,  more  particularly, 
the  worship  of  single  gods  glided  away  almost  percep- 
tibly into  the  worship  of  one  God.  If  I  were  to  add, 
as  a  distingnisiiino:  mark,  that  the  Semitic  religions 
excluded  the  feminine  gender  in  their  names  of  the 
Deity,  or  that  all  their  female  deities  were  only  repre- 
sentatives of  the  active  energies  of  older  and  sexless 
gods,  this  would  be  true  of  some  only,  not  of  all ;  and 
it  would  require  nearly  as  many  limitations  as  the 
statement  of  M.  Renan,  that  the  Semitic  religions 
were  instinctively  monotheistic. 

We  find  lastly  the  ancient  worship  of  the  Aryan 
race,  carried  to  all  the  corners  of  the  earth  by  its  ad- 
venturous sons,  and  easily  recognized,  whether  in  the 
valleys  of  India  or  in  the  forests  of  Germany,  by  the 
common  names  of  the  Deity,  all  originally  expressive 
of  natural  powers.  Their  worship  is  not,  as  has  been 
so  often  said,  a  worship  of  nature.  But  if  it  had  to  be 
characterized  by  one  word,  I  should  venture  to  call  it 
a  worship  of  G-od  in  Nature^  of  God  as  appearing  be- 
hind the  jrorgeous  veil  of  Nature,  rather  than  as  hidden 
behind  the  veil  of  the  sanctuary  of  the  human  heart. 
The  gods  of  the  Aryan  pantheon  assume  an  individu- 
ality so  strongly  marked  and  permanent,  that  with  the 
Arvans,  a  transition  to  monotheism  required  a  power- 


64  THE   SCIENCE   OF   RELIGION. 

ful  struorgle,  and  seldom  took  effect  without  iconoclas- 
tic revolutions  or  pliilosoplilcal  despair. 

Tliese  three  classes  of  reli^ijion  are  not  to  be  mis- 
taken, as  little  as  the  tliree  classes  of  lancruage,  the 
Turanian,  tlie  Semitic,  and  the  Aryan.  They  n»ark 
three  events  in  the  most  ancient  history  of  the  world, 
events  which  have  determined  the  whole  fate  of  the 
human  race,  and  of  which  we  ourselves  still  feel  the 
consequences  in  our  language,  in  our  thoughts,  and  in 
our  religion. 

But  the  chaos  which  these  three  heroes  in  languaore, 
thought,  and  religion,  the  Turanian,  the  Semitic,  and 
the  Aryan,  left  behind,  was  not  altogetlier  a  chaos. 
The  stream  of  language  from  which  these  three  chan- 
nels had  separated  rolled  on  ;  the  sacred  fire  of  relig- 
ion from  which  these  three  altars  had  been  lighted  was 
not  extinguished,  though  hidden  in  smoke  and  ashes. 
There  was  lano;uao;e  and  there  was  relio-ion  everywhere 
in  the  woi-ld,  but  it  was  natural,  wild-growing  language 
and  religion  ;  it  had  no  history,  it  left  no  history,  and 
it  is  therefore  incapable  of  that  peculiar  scientific  treat- 
ment which  has  been  found  applicable  to  a  study  of 
the  languages  and  the  religions  of  the  Chinese,  the 
Semitic,  and  the  Aryan  nations. 

People  wonder  why  the  students  of  language  have 
not  succeeded  in  establishing  more  than  three  families 
of  speech  —  or  rather  two,  for  the  Turanian  can  hardly 
be  called  a  family,  in  the  strict  sense  of  that  word, 
until  it  has  been  fully  ])roved  tliat  Cliinese  forms  the 
centre  of  the  two  Turanian  branches,  the  North  Tura- 
nian on  one  side,  and  the  South  Turanian  on  the 
other  ;  that  Chinese  ^  forms,  in  fact,  the  earliest  settle- 
ment of  that  unsettled  mass  of  speech,  which,  at  a 
1  Lecture  on  the  Stratljication  of  Language,  p.  4. 


THIRD   LECTURE.  65 

later  stage,  became  more  fixed  and  traditional :  in  the 
north,  in  Tungusic,  Mongolic^  Tataric^  and  Finnic  ;  and 
in  the  south,  in  Taic^  Malaic,  Bhotiya,  and  TamuUc. 
Now  tlie  reason  wliy  scholars  have  discovered  no  more 
than  these  tu'o  or  three  great  families  of  sj)eech  is  very 
simple.  There  were  no  more,  and  we  cannot  make 
more.  Families  of  languages  are  very  peculiar  forma- 
tions ;  they  are,  and  they  must  be,  the  exception,  not 
the  rule,  in  the  growth  of  language.  There  was 
always  the  possibility,  but  there  never  was,  as  far  as 
I  can  judge,  any  necessity  of  human  speech  leaving  its 
primitive  stage  of  wild  growth  and  wild  decay.  If  it 
had  not  been  for  what  I  consider  a  purely  spontaneous 
act  on  the  part  of  the  ancestors  of  the  Semitic,  Aryan, 
and  Turanian  races,  all  languages  might  forever  have 
remained  ephemeral,  answering  the  purposes  of  every 
generation  that  comes  and  goes,  struggling  on,  now 
gaining,  now  losing,  sometimes  acquiring  a  certain 
permanence,  but  after  a  season  breaking  up  again,  and 
carried  away  like  blocks  of  ice  by  the  waters  that  rise 
underneath  the  surface.  Our  very  idea  of  language 
would  then  have  been  something  totally  different  from 
what  it  is  now.  For  what  are  we  doing  ?  We  first 
form  our  idea  of  what  language  ought  to  be  from  those 
exceptional  languages  which  were  arrested  in  their 
natural  growth  by  social,  religious,  political,  or  at  all 
events  by  extraneous  influences,  and  we  then  turn 
round  and  wonder  why  all  languages  are  not  like  these 
two  or  three  exceptional  channels  of  speech.  We 
mio-ht  as  well  wonder  whv  all  animals  are  not  domes- 
ticated,  or  why,  besides  the  garden  anemone,  there 
should  be  endless  varieties  of  the  same  flower  growing 
wild  on  the  meadow  and  in  the  woods. 

In  the  Turanian  class,  in  which  the  original  concen- 
5 


QQ  THE    SCIENCE    OF    RELIGION. 

ti-ation  was  never  so  powerful  as  In  the  Aryan  and 
Semitic  families,  we  can  still  catch  a  glimpse  of  the 
natural  growth  of  language,  though  confined  within 
certain  limits.  The  different  settlements  of  this  cfreat 
floating  mass  of  homogeneous  speech  do  not  show  such 
definite  marks  of  relationship  as  Hebrew  and  Arabic, 
Greek  and  Sanskrit,  but  only  such  sporadic  coinci- 
dences and  general  structural  similarities  as  can  be  ex- 
plained by  the  admission  of  a  primitive  concentration, 
followed  by  a  new  period  of  independent  growth.  It 
would  be  willful  blindness  not  to  reccgnize  the  definite 
and  characteristic  features  which  pervade  the  North 
Turanian  languages  ;  it  would  be  impossible  to  explain 
the  coincidence  between  Hungarian,  Lapponian,  Es- 
thonian,  and  Finnish,  except  on  the  supposition  that 
there  was  a  very  early  concentration  of  speech  whence 
these  dialects  branched  off.  We  see  less  clearly  in 
the  South  Turanian  group,  though  I  confess  my  sur- 
prise even  here  has  always  been,  not  that  there  should 
be  so  few,  but  that  there  should  be  even  these  few 
relics,  attesting  the  former  community  of  these  diver- 
gent streams  of  language.  The  point  in  which  the 
South  Turanian  and  North  Turanian  lanmiaofes  meet 
goes  back  as  far  as  Chinese  ;  for  that  Chinese  is  at  the 
root  of  Mandshu  and  Mongolian  as  well  as  of  Siamese 
and  Tibetan  becomes  daily  more  apparent  through  the 
researches  of  Mr.  Edkins.  There  is  no  hurry  for  pro- 
nouncing definitely  on  these  questions  ;  onlv  we  must 
not  allow  the  progress  of  free  inquiry  to  be  barred  by 
dogmatic  skepticism;  we  must  not  look  for  evidence 
which  from  the  nature  of  the  case  we  cannot  and 
ought  not  to  find  ;  and,  before  all  things,  we  must  not 
allow  ourselves  to  be  persuaded  that  for  the  discovery 
of  truth,  blinkers  are  more  useful  than  spectacles. 


THIBD   LECTURE.  67 

If  we  turn  away  from  tlie  Asiatic  continent,  tlie 
original  home  of  the  Aryan,  the  Semitic,  and  the  Tu- 
ranian languages,  we  find  that  in  Africa,  too,  a  com- 
parative study  of  dialects  has  clearly  proved  a  concen- 
tration of  African  language,  the  results  of  which  may 
be  seen  in  the  uniform  Bantu  dialects,  spoken  fiom 
the  equator  to  tlie  Keiskamma.^  North  of  this  body 
of  Bantu  or  Kafir  speech,  we  have  an  independent 
settlement  of  Semitic  language  in  the  Berber  and  the 
Galla  dialects;  south  of  it  we  liave  only  the  Hottentot 
and  Bushrnan  tongues,  the  latter  hardly  analyzed  as 
yet,  the  former  supposed  to  be  related  to  languages 
spoken  in  Northern  Africa,  from  which  it  became  sep- 
arated by  the  intrusion  of  the  Kafir  tribes.  Some 
scholars  have  indeed  imagined  a  relati(mship  between 
the  language  of  the  Hottentots,  the  Nubian  dialects, 
and  the  ancient  Egyptian,  a  language  which,  whatever 
its  real  relationship  [nay  be,  marks  at  all  events  another 
primeval  settlement  of  speech  and  religion,  outside  the 
Asiatic  continent.  But  while  the  spoken  lano;uao;es 
of  the  African  continent  enable  us  to  see  the  general 
articulation  of  the  primitive  population  of  Africa,  — 
for  there  is  a  continuity  in  language  which  nothing 
can  destroy,  —  we  know,  and  can  know,  but  little  of 
the  growth  and  decay  of  African  religion.  In  many 
places  Mohammedanism  and  Christianity  have  swept 
away  every  recollection  of  the  ancient  gods ;  and  even 
when  attempts  have  been  made  by  missionaries  or 
travellers  to  describe  the  religious  status  of  Zulus  or 
Hottentots,  the}'  could  only  see  the  most  recent  forms 
of  African  faith,  and  those  were  changed  almost  inva- 
riably into  grotesque  caricatures.  Of  ancient  African 
religion  we  have  but  one  record,  namely,  in  the  monii- 
1  Blcek,  Comparative  Grammar  of  the  South  African  Languages,  p.  2. 


68  THE   SCIENCE   OF  RELIGION. 

ments  of  Egypt  ;  but  here,  in  spite  of  the  abundance 
of  materials,  in  spite  of  the  ruins  of  temples,  and  num- 
berless statues,  and  half-deciphered  papyri,  I  must 
confess  that  we  have  not  yet  come  very  near  to  the 
beatings  of  the  heart  which  once  gave  life  to  all  this 
strange  and  mysterious  grandeur.^ 

What  applies  to  Africa  applies  to  America.  In  the 
North  we  have  the  languages  as  witnesses  of  ancient 
mifjrations,  but  of  ancient  religion  we  have,  again, 
hardly  anything.  In  the  Soutli  we  know  of  two  lin- 
guistic and  political  centres;  and  there,  in  Mexico  and 
Peru,  we  meet  with  curious,  though  not  always  trust- 
worthy, traditions  of  an  ancient  and  well-established 
system  of  religious  faith  and  worship. 

Tl]e  Science  of  Religion  has  this  advantage  over 
the  Science  of  Language,  if  advantage  it  may  be  called, 
that  in  several  cases  where  the  latter  has  materials 
sufficient  to  raise  problems  of  the  highest  importance, 
but  not  sufficient  for  their  satisfactory  solution,  the 
former  has  no  materials  at  all.  The  ancient  temples 
are  destroyed,  the  names  of  the  ancient  deities  are 
clean  forgotten  in  many  parts  of  the  world  where  dia- 
lects, however  changed,  still  keep  up  the  tradition  of 
the  most  distant  ages.  But  even  if  it  were  otherwise, 
the  students  of  religion  would,  I  think,  do  well  to  fol- 
low the  example  of  the  students  of  language,  and  to 
serve  their  first  apprenticeship  in  a  comparative  study 
of  the  Aryan  and  Semitic  religions.  If  it  can  only  be 
yjroved  that  the  religions  of  the  Aryan  nations  are 
united  by  the  same  bonds  of  a  real  relationship  which 
have  enabled  us  to  treat  their  languages  as  so  many 
varieties  of  the  same  type ;  and  so  also  of  the  Semitic  ; 

1  De  Vogue,  Journal  Asiatique,  1867,  p.  136.  De  Kouge,  "  Sur  la 
Religion  des  Anciens  Egyptiens,"  in  Annales  de  Philosophie  Chretienne, 
Nov.  1869. 


THIRD   LECTURE.  69 

the  field  thus  opened  is  vast  enough,  and  Its  careful 
clearing  and  cultivation  will  occupy  several  genera- 
tions of  scholars.  And  this  original  relationship,  I 
believe,  can  be  proved.  Names  of  the  principal  dei- 
ties, words  also  expressive  of  the  most  essential  ele- 
ments of  rehgion,  such  as  prayer^  sacrifice^  altar,  spirit, 
law,  £ind  faith,  have  been  preserved  among  the  Aryan 
and  among  the  Semitic  nations,  and  these  relics  a(hnit 
of  one  explanation  only.  After  that,  a  comparative 
study  of  tlie  Turanian  religions  may  be  approached 
with  better  hope  of  success  ;  for  that  there  was  not 
only  a  primitive  Aryan  and  a  primitive  Semitic  religion, 
but  likewise  a  primitive  Turanian  religion,  before  each 
of  these  primeval  races  was  broken  up  and  became 
separated  in  language,  worship,  and  national  sentiment, 
admits,  I  believe,  of  little  doubt. 

Let  us  begin  with  our  own  ancestors,  the  Aryans. 
In  a  lecture  which  I  delivered  in  this  place  some  years 
ago,  I  drew  a  sketch  of  what  the  life  of  the  Aryans 
must  have  been  before  their  first  separation,  that  is, 
before  the  time  when  Sanskrit  was  spoken  in  India,  or 
Greek  in  Asia  Minor  and  Europe.  The  outline  of 
that  sketch  and  the  colors  with  which  it  was  filled 
were  simply  taken  from  language.  We  argued  that  it 
would  be  possible,  if  we  took  all  the  words  which  ex- 
ist in  the  same  form  in  French,  Italian,  and  Spanish, 
to  show  what  words,  and  therefore  what  things,  must 
have  been  known  to  the  ))eople  who  did  not  as  yet 
speak  French,  Italian,  and  Spanish,  but  who  spoke  that 
lano-uao-e  which  preceded  these  Romance  dialects.  We 
happen  to  know  that  language  ;  it  was  Latin  ;  but  if 
we  did  not  know  a  word  of  Latin  or  a  single  chapter 
of  Roman  history,  we  should  still  be  able,  by  using 
the  evidence  of  the  words  which  are  common  to  all  the 


70  THE   SCIENCE   OF   RELIGION. 

Romance  languages,  to  draw  some  kind  of  picture  of 
what  the  principal  thoughts  and  occupations  of  those 
people  must  have  been  who  lived  in  Italy  a  thousand 
years  at  least  before  the  time  of  Charlemagne.  We 
could  easily  prove  that  those  people  must  have  had 
kings  and  laws^  temples  and  palaces^  ships  and  car- 
riages^ high  roads  and  bridges^  and  nearly  all  the  in- 
gredients of  a  higlily  civilized  life.  We  could  prove 
this,  as  I  said,  by  simply  taking  the  names  of  all  these 
things  as  they  occur  in  French,  Spanish,  and  Italian, 
and  by  showing  that  as  Spanish  did  not  borrow  them 
from  French,  or  Italian  from  Spanish,  they  must  have 
existed  in  that  previous  stratum  of  language  from 
which  these  three  modern  Romance  dialects  took  their 
origin. 

Exactly  the  same  kind  of  argument  enabled  us  to 
put  together  a  kind  of  mosaic  picture  of  the  earliest 
civilization  of  the  Aryan  people  before  the  time  of 
their  separation.  As  we  find  in  Greek,  Latin,  and  San- 
skrit, also  in  Slavonic,  Celtic,  and  Teutonic,  the  same 
word  for  "  Aowse,"  we  are  fully  justified  in  concluding 
that  before  any  of  these  languages  had  assumed  a  sep- 
arate existence,  a  thousand  years  at  least  before  Aga- 
memnon and  befoj-e  Manu,  the  ancestors  of  the  Aryan 
race  were  no  longer  dwellers  in  tents,  but  builders  of 
permanent  houses.^  As  we  find  the  name  for  town 
the  same  in  Sanskrit  and  Greek,^  we  can  conclude  with 
equal  certainty  that  towns  were  known  to  the  Aryans 
before  Greek  and  before  Sanskrit  was  spoken.  As  we 
find  the  name  for  king  the  same  in  Sanskrit,  Latin, 
Teutonic,  and  Celtic,^  we  know  again  that  kingly  gov- 

1  Sk.  dama,  dofinc,  domus,  Goth,  tim  rjan,  "  to  build,"  SI.  dom. 
Sk.  vesa,  ocKog,  vicus,  Goth,  veih-s. 

2  Sk.  pur,  puri,  orpuri ;    Gr.  TroXic  ;  Sk.  vastu,  "  house";  Gr.  darv. 
*  Sk.  Ra^,  ra^an,  rex;  Goth,  reiks  ;   Ir  -'' -i- 


THIRD   LECTURE.  71 

ernment  was  established  and  recognized  by  the  Aryans 
at  the  same  prehistoric  period.  I  must  not  allow  my- 
self to  be  tempted  to  draw  the  whole  of  that  picture 
of  primeval  civilization  over  again. ^  I  only  wish  to 
?all  back  to  your  recollection  the  fact  that  in  exploring 
together  the  ancient  archives  of  language,  we  found 
tliat  the  highest  god  had  received  the  same  name  in  the 
ancient  mythology  of  India,  Greece,  Italy,  and  Ger- 
many, and  had  retained  that  name  whether  worshipped 
on  the  Himalavan  mountains,  or  amono-  the  oaks  of 
Dodona,  on  the  Capitol,  or  in  the  forests  of  Germany. 
I  pointed  out  that  his  name  was  Dyaus  in  Sanskrit, 
Zeus  in  Greek,  Jovis  in  Latin,  Tlu  in  German  ;  but  I 
hardly  dwelt  with  sufficient  strength  on  the  startling 
nature  of  this  discovery.  These  names  are  not  mere 
names;  they  are  historical  facts,  aye,  facts  more  imme- 
diate, more  trustworthy,  than  many  facts  of  medi£eval 
history.  These  words  are  not  mere  words,  but  they 
bring  before  us,  with  all  the  vividness  of  an  event 
which  we  witnessed  ourselves  but  yesterday,  the  an- 
cestors of  the  whole  Aryan  race,  thousands  of  years  it 
may  be  before  Homer  and  the  Veda,  worshipping  an 
unseen  Being,  under  the  selfsame  name,  the  best,  the 
most  exalted  name,  they  could  find  in  their  vocabu- 
lary, —  under  the  name  of  Light  and  Sky.  And  let 
us  not  turn  away,  and  say  that  this  was  after  all  but 
nature-worship  and  idolatry.  No,  it  was  not  meant 
for  that,  though  it  may  have  been  degraded  into  that 
in  later  times  ;  Dyaus  did  not  mean  the  blue  sky,  nor 
was  it  simply  the  sky  personified — it  was  meant  for 
somethinor  else.  We  have  in  the  Veda  the  invocation 
Dyaus  pitar,  the  Greek  ZeG  Trarep,  the  Latin  Jupiter  ; 
and   that   means  in   all   the   three   languages  what   it 

*  S.^e  Chips  from  a  German  Wurkshop,  vol.  ii.  p.  22,  st(^. 


72  THE   SCIENCE   OF  RELIGION. 

meant  before  these  three  languages  were  torn  asunder 
—  it  means  Heaven-Father  !  These  two  words  are 
not  were  words ;  they  are  to  my  mind  the  oldest  poem, 
the  oldest  prayer  of  mankind,  or  at  least  of  that  pure 
branch  of  it  to  wliich  we  belong,  —  and  I  am  as  firmly 
convinced  that  this  prayer  was  uttered,  that  this  name 
was  given  to  the  unknown  God  before  Sanskrit  was 
Sanskrit  and  Greek  was  Greek,  as,  when  I  see  the 
Lord's  Prayer  in  the  languages  of  Polynesia  and  Me- 
lanesia, I  feel  certain  that  it  was  first  uttered  in  the 
language  of  Jerusalem.  We  little  thought  when  we 
heard  for  the  first  time  the  name  of  Jupiter,  degraded 
it  may  be  by  Homer  or  Ovid  into  a  scolding  husband 
or  a  faithless  lover,  what  sacred  records  lay  enshrined 
in  this  unholy  name.  We  shall  have  to  learn  the  same 
lesson  again  and  again  in  the  Science  of  Religion,  name- 
ly, that  the  place  whereon  we  stand  is  holy  ground. 
Thousands  of  years  have  passed  since  the  Aryan  nations 
separated  to  trav^el  to  the  North  and  the  South,  the 
West  and  the  East ;  they  have  each  formed  their  lan- 
guages, they  have  each  founded  empires  and  philoso- 
phies, they  have  each  built  temples  and  razed  them  to 
the  ground  ;  they  have  all  grown  older,  and  it  may  be 
wiser  and  better  ;  but  when  they  search  for  a  name 
for  what  is  most  exalted  and  yet  most  dear  to  every 
one  of  us,  when  they  wish  to  express  both  awe  and 
love,  the  infinite  and  the  finite,  they  can  but  do  what 
their  old  fathers  did  when  gazing  up  to  the  eternal  sky, 
and  feeling  the  presence  of  a  Being  as  far  as  far,  and 
as  near  as  near  can  be ;  they  can  but  combine  the 
selfsame  words,  and  utter  once  more  the  primeval 
Aryan  prayer,  Heaven-Father,  in  that  form  which  will 
endure  forever,  "  Our  Father  which  art  in  heaven," 
Let  us  now  turn  to  the  early  religion  of  the  Semitic 


THIRD   LECTURE.  73 

nations.  The  Semitic  languages,  it  is  well  known,  are 
even  more  closely  connected  together  than  tlie  Aiyan 
languages,  so  much  that  a  comparative  grammar  of  the 
Semitic  lanoruacres  seems  to  have  but  few  of  the  attrac- 
tions  possessed  by  a  comparative  study  of  Sanskrit, 
Greek,  and  Latin.  Semitic  scholars  complain  that 
there  is  no  work  worth  doing  in  comparing  the  gram- 
mars of  Hebrew,  Syriac,  Arabic,  and  Ethiopic,  for 
they  have  only  to  be  placed  side  by  side  ^  in  order  to 
show  their  close  relationship.  I  do  not  think  tliis  is 
quite  the  case,  and  I  still  hope  tliat  M.  Renan  will 
carry  out  his  original  design,  and,  by  including  not 
only  the  literary  branches  of  the  Semitic  family,  but 
also  the  ancient  dialects  of  Phenicia,  Arabia,  Babylon, 
and  Nineveh,  produce  a  comparative  grammar  of  the 
Semitic  languages  that  may  hold  its  place  by  the  side 
of  Bopp's  great  work  on  the  "  Comparative  Grammar 
of  the  Aryan  Languages." 

But  what  is  still  more  surprising  to  me  is  that  no 
Semitic  scholar  should  have  followed  the  example  of 
the  Aryan  scholars,  and  collected  from  the  different 
Semitic  dialects  those  common  words  which  must  have 
existed  before  Hebrew  was  Hebrew,  before  Syriac  was 
Syriac,  and  before  Arabic  was  Arabic,  and  from  which 
some  kind  of  idea  might  be  formed  as  to  wdiat  were 
the  principal  thoughts  and  occupations  of  the  Semitic 
race  in  its  earliest  undivided  state.  The  materials 
seem  much  larger  and  much  more  easily  accessible.^ 
The  principal  degrees  of  relationship,  for  instance,  have 
common  names  among  the  Semitic  as  among  the  Aryan 
nations,  and  if  it  was  important  to  show  that  the 
Aryans  had  named  and  recognized  not  only  the  natural 

1  See  Bimsen's  Christianity  and  Mankind,  vol.  iii.  p.  246,  seq. 

2  Ibid.  iii.  246  ;  iv.  345. 


74  THE   SCIENCE   OF   RELIGION. 

members  of  a  family,  such  as  father  and  mother,  son 
and  damditer,  brother  and  sister,  but  also  the  more 
distant  members,  the  father  and  mother-in-law,  the 
son  and  daughter-in-law,  the  brother  and  sister-in-law, 
would  it  not  be  of  equal  interest  to  show  that  the  Se- 
mitic nations  had  reached  the  same  deo;ree  of  civiliza- 
tion  long  before  the  time  of  the  laws  of  Moses  ? 

Confining  ourselves  to  the  more  immediate  object  of 
our  researches,  we  see  without  difficulty  that  the  Se- 
mitic languages,  hke  the  Aryan  languages,  possess  a 
number  of  names  of  the  Deity  in  common,  which 
must  have  existed  before  the  Southern  or  Arabic^  the 
Northern  or  Aramaic^  the  Middle  or  Hebraic  branches 
became  permanently  separated,  and  which,  therefore, 
allow  us  an  insight  into  the  religious  conceptions  of 
the  once  united  Semitic  race  long  before  Jehovah  was 
worshipped  by  Abraham,  or  Baal  was  invoked  in 
Phenicia,  or  El  in  Babylon. 

It  is  true,  as  I  pointed  out  before,  that  the  meaning 
of  many  of  these  names  is  more  general  than  the  orig- 
inal meaning  of  the  names  of  the  Arj^an  gods.  Many 
of  them  signify  Poiverful,  Venerable^  Exalted^  King^ 
Lord^  and  they  might  seem,  therefore,  like  honorific 
titles,  to  have  been  given  inde|)endently  by  the  differ- 
ent branches  of  the  Semitic  familv  to  the  gods  whom 
they  worshipped  each  in  their  own  sanctuaries.  But 
if  we  consider  how  many  words  there  were  in  the  Se- 
mitic languages  to  express  greatness,  strength,  or  lord- 
ship, the  fact  that  the  same  ap[)ellatives  occur  as  the 
proper  names  of  the  deity  in  Syria,  in  Carthage,  in 
Babylon,  and  in  Palestine,  admits  of  one  historical  ex- 
planation only.  There  must  have  been  a  time  for  the 
Semitic  as  well  as  for  the  Aryan  races,  when  they  fixed 
the  names  of  their  deities,  and  that  time  must  have 


THIKD   LECTURE.  75 

preceded  the  formation  of  tlieir  separate  languages  and 
separate  religions. 

One  of  the  oldest  names  of  the  deity  among  the  an- 
cestors of  the  Semitic  nations  was  El.  It  meant  Strong. 
It  occurs  in  the  Babylonian  inscriptions  as  Ilu,  God,^ 
and  in  the  very  name  of  Bab-il,  the  gate  or  temple  of 
II.  In  Hebrew  it  occurs  both  in  its  general  sense  of 
stronu  or  hero,  and  as  a  name  of  God  ;  and  we  find  it 
applied,  not  to  the  true  God  only,  but  also  to  the  gods 
of  the  Gentiles  or  to  false  gods.  We  have  it  in  Beth-eU 
the  house  of  God,  and  in  many  other  names.  IF  used 
with  tlie  article,  as  ha-Ul,  the  Strong  One,  or  the  God, 
it  always  is  meant  in  the  Old  Testament  for  Jehovah, 
the  true  God. 

The  same  El  was  worshipped  at  Byblus  by  the  Phe- 
nicians,  and  he  was  called  there  the  son  of  Heaven 
and  Earth.2  His  father  was  the  son  of  Eliun^  the 
most  high  God,  who  had  been  killed  by  wild  animals. 
The  son  of  Eliun,  who  succeeded  him,  was  dethroned, 
and  at  last  slain  by  his  own  son  EU  whom  Philo  iden- 
tifies with  the  Greek  Kronos,  and  represents  as  the 
presiding  deity  of  the  planet  Saturn.^  In  the  Himy- 
aritic  inscriptions,  too,  the  name  of  El  has  been  dis- 
covered.* 

With  the  name  of  El,  Plulo  connected  the  name  of 
Elohim^  the  plural  of  Eloah.  In  the  battle  between 
El  and  his  father,  the  allies  o^  El,  he  says,  were  called 

1  Schrader,  in  Zeitschrift  der  Deutschen  Morgenlandischen  Gesellschnfi, 
vol.  xxiii.  p.  350. 

^  Bunsen;  Egypt,  iv.  187.     Fraqmenta  Hist.  Grcec,  vol.  iii.  p.  .567. 

3  Fragmenta  Hist.  Gr(vc.,  iii.  pp.  567-571.  That  El  is  the  presiding 
deity  of  the  planet  Saturn  according  to  the  Chaldajans  is  also  con- 
firmed by  Diodorus  Siculus,  ii.  .30-3. 

•*  Osiander,  Zeitschrifi  der  Deutschen  Morgenlandischen  Gesdlschaji, 
X.  61. 


76  THE  SCIENCE   OF  RELIGION. 

Eloeim^  as  those  wlio  were  with  Kronos  were  called 
Kronioi}  This  is,  no  doubt,  a  very  tempting  etymol- 
ogy of  Eloah ;  but  as  the  best  Semitic  scholars,  and 
particularly  Professor  Fleischer,  have  declared  against 
it,  we  shall  have,  however  reluctantly,  to  surrender  it. 
Eloah  is  the  same  word  as  the  Arabic  ilah^  God. 

In  the  singular,  Eloah  is  used  in  the  Bible  synony- 
mously with  El ;  in  the  plural  it  may  mean  gods  in 
general  or  false  gods,  but  it  becomes  in  the  Old  Tes- 
tament the  recognized  name  of  the  true  God,  plural  in 
form,  but  singular  in  meaning.  In  Arabic,  ilah^  with- 
out the  article,  means  a  God  in  general  ;  with  the  ar- 
ticle, Al-Ilah,  or  Allah,  becomes  the  name  of  the  God 
of  Mohammed,  as  it  was  the  name  of  the  God  of 
Abraham  and  of  Moses. 

The  origin  of  Eloah  or  Ilah  has  been  frequently 
discussed  by  Euro})ean  as  well  as  by  native  scholars. 
The  Kamus  says  that  there  were  twenty,  Mohammed 
El  Fasi  that  there  were  thirty,  opinions  about  it.  Pro- 
fessor Fleischer,^  whose  judgment  in  such  matters  we 
may  trust  implicitly,  traces  EU  the  strong  one,  back  to 
a  root  al  (with  middle  vav,  aval),  to  be  thick  and 
dense,  to  be  fleshy  and  strong.  But  he  takes  Eloah  or 
Ilah  for  an  abstract  noun,  in  the  sense  of  fear,  derived 
from  a  totally  different  root,  namely,  alah^  to  be  agi- 
tated, confounded,  perplexed.  From  meaning  fear, 
Eloah  came  to  mean  the  object  of  fear  or  reverence, 

1  Frag.  Hist.  Grcec,  iii.  568,  18.  61  61  oi'/i/iaxot  'HAov  tov  Kpovov 
'EXotlfi  f-TZEKTiTjOrjCtav,  wf  uv  KpovioL  ovtoc  ^aav  ol  ?iey6/j.£voi  enl  Kpovov. 

2  See  a  note  by  Professor  Fleischer  in  Delitzsch,  Commentar  uber  die 
Genesis,  third  ed.  1860,  p.  64;  also  Zeitschrifl  der  Deutschen  Morgen- 
landischen  Gesellschtft,  vol.  x.  p.  60 ;  and  Sitzungsberichte  der  konigl. 
Sachsischen  Gesellschajl  derWissenschaften,  Philosoph.  Hist.  C/asse,  vol. 
xviii.  (1866),  pp.  290-292.  Dr.  W.  Wright  adopts  Prof.  Fleischer's 
derivation ;  likewise  Prof.  Kuenen,  in  his  work,  De  Godsdienst  tan 
Israel,  p.  45. 


THIRD  LECTURE.  77 

and  tlins  became  a  name  of  God.  In  the  same  way 
we  find  pachad,  which  means  fear,  used  in  the  sense 
of  God  ;  Gen.  xxxi.  42  :  "  Except  the  God  of  my 
father,  tlie  God  of  Abraham,  and  the  fear  of  Isaac  had 
been  with  me."  And  again,  v.  53 :  "  And  Jacob 
sware  by  the  fear  of  his  father  Isaac."  In  Aramaic, 
dachla,  fear,  is  the  recognized  name  for  God  or  for  an 
idol. 

The  same  ancient  name  appears  also  in  its  feminine 
form  as  AllaO  Her  famous  temple  at  Taif,  in  Arabia, 
was  second  only  in  importance  to  the  sanctuary  of 
Mekkah,  and  was  destroyed  at  the  command  of  Mo- 
hammed. The  worship  o?  Allat^  however,  was  not 
confined  to  this  one  place  ;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  Arabian  goddess  AUbat,  mentioned  by  Herod- 
otus,2  is  the  same  as  the  Allat  of  the  Koran. 

Another  famous  name  of  the  deity,  traces  of  which 
can  be  found  among  most  of  the  Semitic  nations,  is 
Baal  or  Bel.  The  Assyrians  and  Babylonians,^  the 
Phenicians*  and  Carthaginians,  the  Moabites  and 
Philistines,  and,  we  must  add,  the  Jews  also,  all  knew 
of  Bel  or  Baal  as  a  great,  or  even  as  the  supreme  God. 
Baal  can  hardly  be  considered  as  a  strange  and  foreign 
god  in  the  eyes  of  the  Jewish  people,  who  in  spite  of 
the  protests  of  the  Hebrew  prophets,  worshipped  him 
so  constantly  in  the  groves  of  Jerusalem.  He  was  felt 
by  them  almost  as  a  home  deity,  or,  at  all  events,  as  a 

1  Osiander,  Zeitschrift  der  Deiitschen  Morgenlandischen  Gesellschajt, 
vii.  pp.  479-482.     Allat,  goddess,  is  contracted  from  Al-Ilahat. 

■■2  Herod,  iii.  8.  '(dvoy.aCp(JLai  [ol  'ApulStoi)  tov  fuv  ^lovvaov  'OpardA, 
Tvv  de  Oipavifiv  'AW.ut.  In  Herod,  i.  131,  138,  this  name  is  corrupted 
to 'AAtrra.  See  Osiander,  Zeitschrift  der  Deutschen  Morgenlandischen 
Gesellschajl,  ii.  482,  483. 

3  Fragmenta  Hist.  Grcec,  ii.  498,  2. 

*  Ibid.  iii.  568,  21. 


78  THE   SCIENCE   OF  RELIGION. 

Semitic  deity,  and  among  the  gods  whom  the  fathers 
served  on  the  other  side  of  the  flood,  Bel  held  most 
likely  a  very  prominent  place.  Though  originally  one^ 
Baal  became  divided  into  many  divine  personalities 
through  the  influence  of  local  worship.  We  hear  of  a 
Baal-tsur,  Baal-tsidoii,  Baal-tars,  originally  the  Baal 
of  Tyre,  of  Sidon,  and  Tarsus.  On  two  candelabra 
found  on  the  island  of  Malta  we  read  the  Phenician 
dedication  to  "  Melkarth,  the  Baal  of  Tyre."  At  She- 
chem  Baal  was  worshipped  as  Baal-harith^'^  supposed 
to  mean  the  god  of  treaties  ;  at  Ekron  the  Philistines 
worshipped  him  as  Baal-zehub?  the  lord  of  flies  :  while 
the  Moabites,  and  the  Jews  too,  knew  him  also  by  the 
name  of  Baal-peor.^  On  Phenician  coins  Baal  is 
called  Baal  Shamayim,  the  Baal  of  heaven,  which  is  the 
Beelsamen  of  Philo,  identified  by  him  with  the  sun.^ 
"  When  the  heat  became  oppressive,  the  ancient  races 
of  Phenicia,"  he  says,  "  lifted  their  hand  heavenward 
to  the  sun.  For  him  they  considered  the  only  God, 
the  lord  of  heaven,  calling  him  Beelsamen,^  which 
with  the  Phenicians  is  lord  of  heaven,  and  with  the 
Greeks  Zeus."  We  likewise  hear  of  Baalim^  or  many 
Baals  or  gods.  And  in  the  same  way  as  by  the  side 
of  the  male  Ilah  or  Allah  we  found  a  female  Allat^  we 
also  find  by  the  side  of  the  male  Baal,  a  female  deity 
Baalt^  the  Baaltis  of  the  Phenicians.  It  maybe  that 
the  original  conception  of  female  deities  differs  among 

1  M.  de  Vogue,  Journal  Asiatique,  1867,  p.  135. 

2  Judges  viii.  33 ;  ix.  4.        ^2  Kings  i.  2,  3,  16.       *  Numbers  xxv. 
5  Fragmenta  Hist.  Grcec.  iii.  565,  5.    It  is  impossible  to  change  tjXiov 

into  ^Aov,  because  El  or  Kronos  is  mentioned  afterwards. 

c  Is  this  the  same  as  Barsamus,  mentioned  by  Moses  of  Chorene 
(Hist..  Arin.  i.  13)  as  a  deified  hero  worshipped  by  the  Syrians  "?  Or  is 
Barsamus  the  Son  of  Heaven  ?  See  Rawlinson,  Ancient  Monarchies, 
vol.  i.  p.  116. 


THIRD   LECTURE.  79 

Semitic  and  Aryan  nations,  and  that  these  feminine 
forms  of  Allah  and  Baal  were  at  first  intended  only  to 
express  the  energy  or  activity,  or  the  collective  powers 
of  the  deity,  not  a  se[)arate  being,  least  of  all  a  wife. 
This  opinion  ^  is  certaiidy  confirmed  when  we  see  that 
in  a  Carthaginian  inscription  the  goddess  Tanit  is 
called  the  face  of  Baal,  and  that  in  the  inscription  of 
Eshmunazar,  the  Sitlonian  Astarte  is  called  the  7iame 
of  Baal.  In  course  of  time,  however,  this  abstract 
idea  was  supplanted  by  that  of  a  female  power,  and 
even  a  wife,  and  as  such  we  find  Baaltis  worshipped 
by  Phenicians,2  Babylonians,  and  Assyrians  ;  ^  for  the 
name  of  Mylitta  in  Herodotus  *  is,  according  to  Dr. 
Oppert,  a  mere  corruption  of  Baaltis. 

Another  famous  female  goddess  is  Ashtoreth,  a  name 
which  presupposes  a  masculine  deity,  Ashtar.  Traces 
of  this  god  have  been  discovered  in  the  Ishtar  of  the 
Babylonian  inscriptions,  and  more  recently  in  the  Ash- 
tar of  the  Moabite  stone.  In  this  case,  however,  the 
femnle  deity  became  predominant,  and  was  worshipped, 
not  only  by  Carthaginians,  Phenicians,  and  Philis- 
tines, but  likewise  by  the  Jews,^  when  they  forsook  the 
Lord,  and  served  Baal  and  Ashtaroth.^  The  Syrians 
called  her  Astarte,  and  by  that  ominous  name  she  be- 
came known  to  Greeks  and  Romans.  Wlien  Jeremiah 
speaks  of  the  Queen  of  Heaven,''  this  can  only  be 
meant  for  Astarte,  or  Baaltis.  Even  in  Southern 
Arabia  there  are  traces  of  the  worship  of  this  ancient 
goddess.  For  in  Sana,  the  ancient  capital  of  the  Him- 
yaritic  kingdom,  there  was  a  magnificent  palace  and 
temple  dedicated  to  Venus  (Bait  Ghumdan),  and  the 

1  De  Vogue,  I.  c.  p.  138.  2  Fragmenta  Hist.  Grcec  iii.  569,  25. 

3  Ibid.  iv.  283,  9,  *  Herod,  i.  131,  199.  ^  \  Kings  xi.  5, 

^  Judges  iii.  12.  7  jer.  vii.  18. 


80  THE   SCIENCE   OF  EELIGION. 

name  of  Athtar  lias  been  read  in  the  Hlmyaritic  in- 
scriptions :  nay,  it  is  preceded  in  one  place  by  the  verb 
in  the  masculine  gender.^ 

Another  word,  meaning  originally  king,  which  must 
have  been  fixed  upon  as  a  name  of  the  Deity  in  pre- 
historic times,  is  the  Hebrew  Melech.  We  find  it  in 
Moloch,  who  was  worshipped,  not  only  at  Carthage,  in 
the  Islands  of  Crete  and  Rhodes,  but  Hkewise  in  the 
valley  of  Hinnom.  We  find  the  same  word  in  Milcom, 
the  god  of  the  Ammonites,  who  had  a  sanctuary  in 
Mount  Olivet ;  and  the  gods  Adrammelech  and  Anam- 
melech,  to  whom  the  Sepharvites  burnt  their  children 
in  the  fire,^  seem  again  but  local  varieties  of  the  same 
Semitic  idol. 

Adonai,  which  in  Hebrew  means  my  lord,  and  in 
the  Old  Testament  is  used  exclusively  of  Jehovah, 
appears  in  Phenicia  as  the  name  of  the  Supreme 
Deity,  and  after  undergoing  manifold  mythological 
transformations,  the  same  name  has  become  familiar 
to  us  through  the  Greek  tales  about  the  beautiful 
youth  Adonis,  loved  by  Aphrodite,  and  killed  by  the 
wild  boar  of  Ares. 

Elyon,  which  in  Hebrew  means  the  Highest,  is 
used  in  the  Old  Testament  as  a  predicate  of  God.  It 
occurs  also  by  itself  as  a  name  of  Jehovah.  Melchiz- 
edek  is  called  emphatically  the  priest  of  El  elyon,  the 
priest  of  the  most  high  God. 

But  this  name,  again,  is  not  restricted  to  Hebrew. 
It  occurs  in  the  Phenician  cosmogony  as  Eliun,  the 
highest    God,  the    Father  of   Heaven,  who  was  the 

1  Osiander,  1.  c.  p.  472  ;  Gildemeister,  Zeitschrijl  der  D.  M.  G. 
xxiv.  pp.  180,  181  ;  Lenormant,  Comptesrendus  des  seances  de  I' Acad, 
des  incriptions  et  belles-lettres  de  Vannee  1867;  Levy,  Zeitschrijl  der  D 
M.  G.  xxiv.  p.  1 89. 

2  2  Kings  xvii.  31. 


THIRD   LECTURE.  81 

father  of  El,  Dr.  Oppert  lias  identified  this  Eliun 
witli  the  minus  mentioned  by  Damascius. 

Another  word  used  in  tiie  Bible,  sometimes  in  com- 
bination with  El,  and  more  frequently  alone,  as  a 
name  of  the  supreme  deity,  is  Shaddai,  the  Powerful. 
It  comes  from  a  kindred  root  to  that  which  has  yielded 
the  substantive  Shed,  meaning  demon  in  the  lant^uage 
of  the  Talmud,  and  the  plur.  Shedim,  a  name  for  false 
gods  or  idols  in  the  Old  Testament.  This  name  occurs 
as  Set  or  Sed  in  the  hieroglyphic  inscriptions.^  It  is 
there  the  name  of  a  god  introduced  by  the  shepherds, 
and  one  of  his  surnames  is  given  as  BaaL  The  same 
deity  Shaddai,  the  Powerful,  has,  by  a  clever  conjec- 
ture, been  discovered  as  one  of  the  deities  worshipped 
by  the  ancient  Phenicians.^ 

While  these  names  of  the  Deity  and  some  others 
are  shared  in  common  by  all,  or  by  the  most  important 
members  of  the  Semitic  family,  and  must  therefore 
have  existed  previous  to  the  lirst  Semitic  separation, 
there  are  others  peculiar  to  each  branch. 

Thus  the  name  of  Jehovah,  or  Jahveh?  as  it  seems 
originally  to  have  been  pronounced,  seems  to  me  to  be 
a  divine  name  peculiar  to  the  Jews.  It  is  true  that 
in  a  well-known  passage  of  Lydus,  lAO  *  is  said  to 
have  been  the  name  of  God  among  the  Chaldaeans. 
But  granting  that  lAO  was  the  same  word  as  Jahveh 

1  De  Vogue,  1.  c.  p.  160. 

2  Bunsen,  Egypt,  iv.  221.     De  Vogue,  Melanges  d'ArcheoJogi'e,  p.  77. 
^  Theodoret.     Quest,  xv.  ad  Exodam  (420  a.  d.):  Kalovn    de  avro 

IiafiapeiTiu  lABE,  'lovSaioc  de  IAi2,  Diod.  Sic.  i.  94  (59  b.  c.)  :  napa 
6s  Tolg  'lovSatoig  Muvaffv  tqv  'Io(j  eTnuaXovfievov  ^eov,  k.  t.  \. 

^  Lydus,  De  Mensibus,  iv.  38,  14  :  Oi  XaMatoi  tov  &edv  lAi2  T^eyovai, 
avTL,  TOV  (buu  voTjTov'  Tr}  ^OLViKuv  yT^daai)  Kol  2ABAS29  6t  itoKkax''^ 
.leycrrtf,  oiov  6  UTrep  roH}^  eirrg  Tro/lovf,  tovtecstiv  6  drjiiocivpyog.  Bunsen, 
Egypt,  iv.  1 93 ;  Renan,  Sanchoniathon,  p.  44,  note.  And  see  Diodorus- 
Siculus,  i.  94,  2. 


82  THE   SCIENCE   OF  RELIGION. 

or  Jehovah  or  Jah  (as  in  Hallelu-jah),  may  not  Lydus 
bj  the  Chaldseans  have  simply  meant  the  Jews  ?  If, 
as  Sir  Henry  Rawhnson  maintains,  the  name  of  Jeho- 
vah occurred  in  the  Babylonian  inscriptions,  the  case 
would  be  different ;  we  sliould  then  have  to  admit  that 
this  name,  too,  was  fixed  before  the  Semitic  family  was 
broken  up  ;  but  until  this  is  fully  proved,  we  shall  be 
justified  in  claiming  Jehovah  as  a  name  of  the  Deity 
peculiar  to  Hebrew,  or,  at  all  events,  as  fixed  by  the 
Hebrew  prophets  in  the  sense  of  the  one  true  God, 
opposed  to  all  other  gods  of  the  Semitic  race.^ 

But  whether  we  include  or  exclude  the  name  of  Je- 
hovah, we  have,  I  think,  sufficient  v^itnesses  to  estab- 
lish what  we  wished  to  establish,  namely,  that  there 
was  a  period  during  which  the  ancestors  of  the  Semitic 
family  had  not  yet  been  divided,  whether  in  language 
or  in  religion.  That  period  transcends  the  recollection 
of  every  one  of  the  Semitic  races  in  the  same  way  as 
neither  Hindus,  Greeks,  nor  Romans  have  any  recol- 
lection of  the  time  when  they  spoke  a  common  lan- 
guage, and  worshipped  their  Father  in  heaven  by  a 
name  that  was  as  yet  neither  Sanskrit,  nor  Greek,  nor 
Latin.  But  I  do  not  hesitate  to  call  this  pre-historic 
period  historical  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word.  It  was 
a  real  period,  because,  unless  it  w^as  real,  all  the  reali- 
ties of  the  Semitic  languages  and  the  Semitic  religions, 
sucii  as  w^e  find  them  after  their  separation,  would  be 
unintelligible.  Hebrew,  Syriac,  and  Arabic  point  to 
a  common  source  as  much  as  Sanskrit,  Greek,  and 
Latin  ;    and  unless  we  can   bring  ourselves  to  doubt 

1  Lobeck,  AgJaophamns,  p.  461.  Sir  H.  Rawlinson  has  kindly  in- 
formed me  that  he  doubts  whether  Yahu,  which  occurs  in  the  sense  of 
God  in  the  Assyrian  inscription,  belonged  properly  to  the  Assyrian  lan- 
guage. He  thinks  that  it  may  have  been  borrowed  from  Syria,  and 
adopted  with  the  language,  as  were  so  many  other  foreign  terms. 


THIRD    LECTURE.  83 

that  the  Hindus,  the  Greeks,  tlie  Romans,  and  the 
Teutons  derived  the  worship  of  their  principal  deity 
from  their  common  Aryan  sanctuary,  we  shall  not  be 
able  to  deny  that  there  was  likewise  a  primitive  relig- 
ion of  the  whole  Semitic  race,  and  that  El,  the  Strong 
One  in  Heaven,  was  invoked  by  the  ancestors  of  all 
the  Semitic  races,  before  there  were  Babylonians  in 
Babylon,  Phenicians  in  Sidon  and  Tyrus,  before  there 
were  Jews  in  Mesopotamia  or  Jerusalem.  The  evi- 
dence of  the  Semitic  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  Aryan 
languages  ;  the  conclusion  cannot  be  different. 

We  now  come  to  the  third  nucleus  of  language,  and 
as  I  hope  to  show,  of  religioti  also,  —  to  that  which 
forms  the  foundation  of  the  Turanian  world.  The 
subject  is  extremely  difficult,  and  I  confess  I  doubt 
whether  I  shall  succeed  in  engaging  your  sympathy  in 
favor  of  the  religious  opinions  of  people  so  strange,  so 
far  removed  from  us,  as  the  Chinese,  the  Mongolians, 
the  Samoyedes,  the  Finns,  and  Lapps.  We  naturally 
take  an  interest  in  the  ancient  history  of  the  Aryan 
and  Semitic  nations,  for,  after  all,  we  are  ourselves 
Arvan  in  language,  and  Semitic,  at  least  to  a  certain 
extent,  in  relio-ion.  But  what  have  we  in  common 
with  the  Turanians,  with  Chinese  and  Samoyedes? 
Very  little,  it  may  seem  ;  and  yet  it  is  not  very  little, 
for  it  is  our  common  humanity.  It  is  not  the  yellow 
skin  and  the  high  cheek-bones  that  make  the  man. 
Nay,  if  we  look  but  steadily  into  those  black  Chinese 
eyes,  we  shall  find  that  there,  too,  there  is  a  soul  that 
responds  to  a  soul,  and  that  the  God  whom  they  mean 
is  the  same  God  whom  we  mean^  however  helpless 
their  utterance,  however  imperfect  their  worship. 

If  we    take    the    religion   of  China   as   the   earliest 
representative  of  Turanian  worship,  the  question  is, 


84  THE   SCIENCE   OF  RELIGION. 

whether  we  can  find  any  names  of  the  Deity  in  Chi- 
nese wliich  appear  again  in  the  religions  and  mytholo- 
gies of  other  Turanian  tribes,  such  as  the  Mandshus, 
the  Mongolians,  the  Tatars,  or  Finns.  I  confess  that, 
considerlno-  the  chanorinop  and  shifting  character  of  the 
Turanian  languages,  considering  also  the  long  interval 
of  time  that  must  have  passed  between  the  first  lin- 
guistic and  religious  settlement  in  China,  and  the  later 
gradual  and  imperfect  consolidation  of  the  other  Tu- 
ranian races,  I  was  not  very  sanguine  in  my  expecta- 
tion that  any  such  names  as  Byaus  Pilar  among  the 
Aryans,  or  El  and  Baal  among  the  Shenn'tes,  could 
have  survived  in  the  religious  traditions  of  the  vast 
Turanian  world.  However,  there  is  no  reason  why 
we  should  not  look  for  such  names  in  Chinese,  Mon- 
golian, and  Turkish  ;  still  less,  why  we  should  pass 
them  by  with  indifference  or  incredulity,  because,  from 
the  very  nature  of  the  case,  their  coincidence  is  not  so 
striking  and  convincino;  as  that  of  the  Semitic  and 
Aryan  names  of  the  Deity.  There  are  in  researches 
of  this  kind  different  degrees  of  certainty,  and  I  am 
the  very  last  person  to  slur  them  over,  and  to  repre- 
sent all  our  results  as  equally  certain.  But  if  we  want 
to  arrive  at  terra  firma^  we  must  not  mind  a  plunge 
now  and  then  ;  and  if  we  wish  to  mount  a  ladder,  we 
must  not  be  afraid  of  taking  the  first  step.  The  coin- 
cidences between  the  religious  phraseology  of  Chinese 
and  other  Turanian  languages  are  certainly  not  like 
the  coincidences  between  Greek  and  Sanskrit,  or  be- 
tween Hebrew  and  Phenician  ;  but  they  are  such  that 
they  ought  not  to  be  neglected  by  the  pioneers  of  a 
new  science. 

You  remember  that  the  popular  worship  of  ancient 
China  was  a  worship  of  single  spirits,  of  powers,  or, 


THIRD   LECTURE.  85 

we  might  almost  say,  of  names  ;  the  names  of  the 
most  prominent  powers  of  nature  wliicli  are  supposed 
to  exercise  an  influence  for  good  or  evil  on  the  life  of 
man.  We  find  a  belief  in  spirits  of  the  sky,  the  sun, 
the  moon,  the  stars,  the  earth,  the  mountains,  the  riv- 
ers ;  to  say  nothing  as  yet  of  tlie  spirits  of  the  de- 
parted. In  China,  where  there  always  has  been  a 
strong  tendenc}^  towards  order  and  regularity,  some 
kind  of  system  has  been  superinduced  by  the  recogni- 
tion of  two  powers,  one  active,  the  other  passive,  one 
male,  the  other  female,  which  comprehend  everything, 
and  which,  in  the  mind  of  the  niore  enlightened,  tower 
high  above  the  great  crowd  of  minor  spirits.  These 
two  powers  are  within  and  beneath  and  behind  every- 
thing tliat  is  double  in  nature,  and  they  have  fre- 
quently been  identified  with  heaven  and  earth.  We 
can  clearly  see,  however,  that  the  spirit  of  heaven 
occupied  from  the  beginning  a  much  higher  position 
than  the  spirit  of  the  earth.  It  is  in  the  historical 
books  only,  in  the  Shu  King,^  that  we  are  told  that 
heaven  and  earth  together  are  the  father  and  mother 
of  all  things.  In  the  ancient  poetry  Heaven  alone  is 
both  father  and  mother.^  This  spirit  of  heaven  is 
known  in  Chinese  by  the  name  of  Tien^  and  wherever 
in  otlier  religions  we  should  expect  the  name  of  the 
supreme  deity,  whether  Jupiter  or  Allah,  we  find  in 
Chinese  the  name  of  Tien  or  sky.  This  Tten^  accord- 
ing to  the  Imperial  Dictionary  of  Kanghee,  means  the 

1  In  the  Shu-king  (3, 11)  Tien  is  called  Shang-tien,  or  High  Heaven, 
which  is  synonymous  with  Shang-te,  High  Spirit,  another  very  common 
name  of  the  supreme  deity.  The  Confucians  never  made  any  image 
of  Shang-te,  but  the  Taosse  represented  their  (Yah-hwang)  Shang-te 
under  the  human  form.     Medhurst,  Inquiry,  p.  46. 

2  Chalmers,  Origin  of  the  Chinese,  p  14;  Medhurst,  1.  c.  p.  124; 
contrast  between  Shins  and  Shangti. 


86  THE   SCIENCE   OF   RELIGION. 

Great  One,  he  that  dwells  on   high  and  regulates  all 
below.      We  see  in  fact  that  Tien,  originally  the  name 
of  the  sky,  has  passed  in  Chinese  through  nearly  all 
the   phases,  from  the   lowest  to   the  highest,  through 
which  the  Aryan  name  for  sky,  dyauB^  passed  in  the 
poetry,   the    religion,    mythology,   and    philosophy   of 
India  and  Greece.    The  sign  of  tien  in  Chinese  is  com- 
pounded of  two  signs:  ta,  which  means  ^rea^,  and  j/i'A, 
wliich  means  one.     The  sky,  therefore,  M-as  conceived 
as  the  One,  the  Peerless,  and  as  the  Great,  the  High, 
the  Exalted.     I  remember  reading  in  a  Chinese  book, 
"As  there  is  but  one  sky,  how  can  there   be   many 
gods  ? "     In   fact,  tlieir  beHef   in    Tien,  the  spirit  of 
heaven,  moulded  the  whole  of  the  religious  phraseology 
of  the  Chinese.     "  The  glorious  heaven,"  we  read,  *'  is 
called  bright,  it  accompanies  you  wherever  you  go  ; 
the  glorious  heaven  is  called  luminous,  it  goes  wher- 
ever you  roam."     Tien  is  called  the  ancestor  of  all 
things ;  the  highest  that  is  above.     He  is  called  the 
great  framer,  who  makes  things  as  a  potter  frames  an 
earthen    vessel.     The  Chinese  also  speak  of  the  de- 
crees and  the  will  of  Heaven,  of  the  steps  of  Heaven 
or  Providence.     The  sages  who  teach  the  people  are 
sent  by  Heaven,  and  Confucius  himself  is  said  to  have 
been  used  by  Heaven  as  the  '*  alarum  "  of  the  world. 
The  same  Confucius,  when  on  the  brink  of  despond- 
ency, because  no  one  would  believe  in  him,  knows  of 
one  comfort  only  ;    that  comfort  is,   "  Heaven  knows 
me."     It  is  clear  from  many  |)assa!zes  that  with  Con- 
fucius Tien  or  the  Spirit  of  Heaven  was  the  supreme 
deity,  and  that  he  looked  upon  the  other  gods  of  the 
people,  the  spirits  of  the   air,  the  mountains,  and   the 
rivers,  the  spirits  also  of  the  departed,  very  much  with 
the  same  feelins  with  which   Sokrates  reo^arded   the 


THIRD   LECTURE.  87 

mythological  deities  of  Greece.  Thus  when  asked  on 
one  occasion  how  the  spirits  should  be  served,  he  re- 
plied, "  If  we  are  not  able  to  serve  men,  how  can  we 
serve  the  spirits  ?  "  And  at  another  time  he  said  in 
his  short  and  significant  manner,  "  Respect  the  Gods, 
and  keep  them  at  a  distance."  ^ 

We  have  now  to  see  whether  we  can  find  any  traces 
of  this  belief  in  a  supreme  spirit  of  heaven  among  the 
other  branches  of  the  Turanian  class,  the  Mandshus, 
Mongolians,  Tatars,  Finns,  or  Lapps.  As  there  are 
many  names  for  sky  in  the  Turanian  dialects,  it  would 
not  be  absolutely  necessary  that  we  should  find  the 
same  name  which  we  found  in  Chinese ;  yet,  if  traces 
of  tliat  name  could  be  found  among  Mong-olians  and 
Tatars,  our  argument  would,  no  doubt,  gain  far  greater 
strength.  It  is  the  same  in  all  researches  of  compara- 
tive mythology.  If  we  find  the  same  conceptions,  the 
same  myths  and  legends,  in  India,  Greece,  Italy,  and 
Germany,  there  is,  no  doubt,  some  presumption  in 
favor  of  their  common  origin,  but  no  more.  But  if 
we  meet  with  gods  and  heroes,  having  the  same  name 
in  the  mythology  of  the  Veda,  and  the  mythology  of 
Greece  and  Rome  and  Germany,  then  we  stand  on 
firmer  ground.  We  have  then  to  deal  with  real  facts 
that  cannot  be  disputed,  and  all  that  remains  is  to  ex- 
plain them.  In  Turanian  mythology,  however,  such 
facts  are  not  easily  brought  together.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  China,  we  know  very  little  of  the  ancient  his- 
tory of  tlie  Turanian  races,  and  what  we  know  of  their 
present  state  comes  frequently  from  prejudiced  observ- 
ers. Besides,  their  old  heathendom  is  fast  disappearing 
before  the  advance  of  Buddiiism,  Mohammedanism,  and 
Christianity.  Yet  if  we  take  the  accounts  of  the  most 
1  Medhurst,  Reply  to  Dr.  Boone,  p.  32. 


88  THE  SCIENCE   OF  RELIGION. 

trustworthy  travellers  in  Central  and  Northern  Asia, 
and  more  particularly  the  careful  observations  of  Gas- 
trin, we  cannot  but  recognize  some  most  striking  coin- 
cidences in  the  scattered  notices  of  the  reli«:ion  of  the 
Tungusic,  Mongolic,  Tataric,  and  Finnic  tribes.  Every- 
where we  find  a  worship  of  the  spirits  of  nature,  of  the 
spirits  of  the  departed,  thougli,  behind  and  above  it 
there  rises  the  belief  in  some  higher  power,  known  by 
different  names,  sometimes  called  the  Father,  the  Old 
One,  who  is  the  Maker  and  Protector  of  the  world, 
and  who  always  resides  in  heaven.  Chinese  historians 
are  the  only  writers  who  give  us  an  account  of  the 
earlier  history  of  some  of  these  Turanian  tribes,  par- 
ticularly of  the  Huns,  whom  they  call  Hiongnu,  and 
of  the  Turks,  whom  they  call  Tukiu.  They  relate^ 
that  the  Huns  worshipped  the  sun,  the  moon,  the 
spirits  of  the  sky  and  the  earth,  and  the  spirits  of  the 
departed,  and  that  their  priests,  the  Shamans,  possessed 
a  power  over  the  clouds,  being  able  to  bring  down 
snow,  hail,  rain,  and  wind.^ 

Menander,  a  Byzantine  historian,  relates  of  the  Turks 
that  in  his  time  they  worshipped  the  fire,  the  water, 
and  the  earth,  but  that  at  the  same  time  they  believed 
in  a  God,  the  maker  of  the  world,  and  offered  to  him 
sacrifices  of  camels,  oxen,  and  sheep. 

Still  later  we  get  some  information  from  mediaeval 
travellers,  such  as  Piano  Carpini,  and  Marco  Polo,  who 
say  that  the  Mongol  tribes  paid  great  reverence  to  the 
sun,  the  fire,  and  the  water,  but  that  they  believed  also 
in  a  great  and  powerful  God,  whom  they  called  JSfata- 
gai  (Natigay)  or  Itoga, 

In  modern  times  we  have  chiefly  to  depend  on  Cas- 

1  Castren,  Vorlesungen  ueber  Finnische  Mythdogie,  p.  2. 

2  Ibid.  1.  c.  p.  36. 


THIRD   LECTURE.  89 

tr^n,  who  had  eyes  to  see  and  ears  to  hear  what  few 
other  travellers  would  liave  seen  or  heard,  or  under- 
stood. Speaking  of  the  Tungusic  tribes,  lie  says,  "  They 
worship  the  sun,  the  moon,  the  stars,  the  earth,  fire, 
the  spirits  of  forests,  rivers,  and  certain  sacred  locali- 
ties ;  they  worship  even  images  and  fetiches,  but  with 
all  this  they  retain  a  faith  in  a  supreme  being  which 
they  call  Buga.'"'^  "The  Samoyedes,"  he  says,  "wor- 
ship idols  and  various  natural  objects  ;  but  they  always 
profess  a  belief  in  a  higher  divine  power  which  they 
call  Num.'''' 

This  deity  which  is  called  Num,  is  also  called  Juma 
by  the  Samoyedes,^  and  is  in  fact  the  same  deity  which 
in  the  grand  mythology  of  Finland  is  known  under  the 
name  of  Jumala.  The  mythology  of  Finland  has  been 
more  carefully  preserved  than  the  mythologies  of  all 
the  other  Altaic  races,  and  in  their  ancient  epic  poems, 
which  liave  been  kept  up  by  oral  tradition  for  centu- 
ries, and  have  been  written  down  but  very  lately,  we 
have  magnificent  descriptions  of  Jumala,  the  deity  of 
the  sky.  Jumala  meant  originally  the  sky.  It  is  de- 
rived, as  Castren  has  shown,^  from  Jurna^  thunder,  and 
la^  the  place,  meaning  therefore,  the  place  of  thunder, 
or  the  sky.  It  is  used  first  of  all  for  sky,  secondly  for 
god  of  the  sky,  and  thirdly  for  gods  in  general.  The 
very  same  word,  only  modified  according  to  the  pho- 
netic rules  of  each  language,  occurs  among  the  Lapps,* 
the  Esthonians,  the  Syrjanes,  the  Tcheremissians,  and 
the  Votyakes.^  We  can  watch  the  growth  and  the 
changes  of  this  heavenly  deity  as  we  catch  a  glimpse 
here  and  there  of  the  religious  thoughts  of  these  Altaic 
tribes.     An  old  Samoyede  woman  who  was  asked  by 

1  Is  this  the  Russian  "bog,"  god?  ^  Castren,  1.  c.  p.  1?.^ 

«  Page  24.  *  Page  11.  ^  Page  24. 


90  THE   SCIENCE   OF   RELIGION. 

Gastrin  ^  whether  she  ever  said  her  prayers,  replied, 
"  Every  morning  I  step  out  of  my  tent  and  bow  before 
the  sun,  and  say  :  '  When  thou  risest,  I,  too,  rise  from 
my  bed.'  And  every  evening  I  say;  '  Wlten  thou 
sinkest  down,  I  too,  sink  down  to  rest.'  "  That  was 
lier  prayer,  perliaps  the  wliole  of  Iier  religious  service, 
—  a  poor  prayer  it  may  seem  to  us,  but  not  to  her ;  for 
it  made  that  old  woman  look  twice  at  least  every  day 
aw^ay  from  earth  and  up  to  heaven  ;  it  implied  that  her 
life  was  bound  up  with  a  larger  and  higher  life  ;  it 
encircled  the  daily  routine  of  her  earthly  existence  with 
something  of  a  divine  halo.  She  lierself  was  evidently 
proud  of  it,  for  she  added,  w^th  a  touch  of  self-right- 
eousness,  "  There  are  wild  people  who  never  say  their 
morning  and  evening  prayers." 

As  in  this  case  the  deity  of  the  sky  is  represented, 
as  it  were,  by  the  sun,  we  see  Jumala,  under  differ- 
ent circumstances,  conceived  as  the  deity  of  the  sea. 
When  walking  one  evening  with  a  Samoyede  sailor 
along  the  coast  of  the  Polar  Sea,  Castren  asked  him, 
"  Tell  me,  where  is  Num  ?  "  (i.  e.  Jumala.)  Without 
a  moment's  hesitation  the  old  sailor  pointed  to  the 
dark,  distant  sea,  and  said,  "  He  is  there.'' 

Again,  in  the  epic  poem  Kalevdla,  when  the  hostess 
of  Pohjola  is  in  labor,  she  calls  on  Jumala,  and  says, 
"  Come  now  into  the  bath,  Jumala,  into  the  warmth, 
Olord  of  the  air!  "2 

At  another  time  Jumala  is  the  god  of  the  air,  and  is 
invoked  in  the  follovvino;  lines  :  ^  — 

"  Harness  now  thyself,  Jumala, 
Ruler  of  the  air,  thy  horses  ! 
Bring  them  forth,  thy  rapid  racers, 
Drive  the  sledge  with  glittering  colors, 

1  Page  16.  2  Page  19.  »  Page  21. 


TfflRD   LECTURE.  91 

Passinf^  throiiffh  our  bones,  our  ankles, 
Through  our  flesh  that  shakes  and  trembles, 
Through  our  veins  which  seem  all  broken. 
Knit  the  flesh  and  bones  together, 
Fasten  vein  to  vein  more  firmly. 
Let  our  joints  be  filled  with  silver. 
Let  our  veins  with  gold  be  running  !  " 

111  all  these  cases  tlie  deity  invoked  is  tlie  same,  it  is 
the  deity  of  the  sky,  Juinala  ;  but  so  indefinite  is  his 
cliarac'ter,  that  we  can  hardly  say  whether  he  is  the 
god  of  the  sky,  or  the  sun,  or  the  sea,  or  the  air,  or 
whether  he  is  a  supreme  deity  reflected  in  all  these 
aspects  of  nature. 

However,  you  will  naturally  ask,  where  is  there  any 
similarity  between  the  name  of  that  deity  and  the  Chi- 
nese deity  of  the  sky,  Tien?  The  common  worship 
o^  Jumala  may  j)rove  some  kind  of  religious  concen- 
tration among  the  different  Altaic  nations  in  the  North 
of  Asia,  but  it  does  not  prove  any  pre-historic  commu- 
nity of  worship  between  those  nations  and  the  ancient 
inhabitants  of  China.  It  is  true  that  the  Chinese  Tien 
with  its  three  meanings  of  sky,  god  of  the  sky,  and  god 
in  general,  is  the  exact  counterpart  of  the  North  Tu- 
ranian Jumala  ;  but  still  we  want  more  ;  we  want  traces 
of  the  same  name  of  the  deity  in  China,  in  Mongolia, 
and  Tatary,  just  as  we  found  the  name  of  Jupiter  in 
India  and  Italy,  and  the  name  of  El  in  Babylon  and 
Palestine. 

Well,  let  us  remember  that  Chinese  is  a  monosyllabic 
language,  and  that  the  later  Turanian  dialects  have  en- 
tered into  the  agglutinative  stage,  that  is  to  say,  that 
they  use  derivative  suffixes,  and  we  shall  then  without 
much  difficulty  discover  traces  of  the  Cliinese  word 
Tien^  with  all  its  meanings,  among  some  at  least  of  the 
most  important  of  the  Turanian  races.     In  the  Mongo- 


92  THE   SCIENCE   OF  RELIGION. 

llan  lancruage  we  find  Teng-ri^  and  this  means,  first, 
sky  ;  then,  god  of  tlie  sky  ;  then,  god  in  general ;  and 
lastly,  spirit  or  demon,  whether  good  or  bad. 

I  think  you  will  see  the  important  bearing  of  this 
discovery,  for  it  clinches  the  argument  as  nothino;  else 
could  have  clinched  it.  Unless  we  had  found  tlie  same 
name  of  the  supreme  deity  in  the  hymns  of  tlie  Veda 
and  in  the  prayer  of  the  priestesses  at  Dodona,  we 
could  not  have  forced  the  conviction  that  it  was  origi- 
nally one  and  the  same  conception  of  divine  person- 
ality, that  had  been  worshipped  long  b  fore  the  Hindus 
had  entered  India,  or  the  dove  had  alighted  on  the  oak 
of  Dodona.  The  same  applies  to  the  Chinese  Tien 
and  the  Mongolian  Tengri.  And  this  is  not  all.  By 
a  fortunate  accident  the  Turanian  name  of  Tengri  can 
be  traced  back  from  the  modern  M<mo;oIian  to  an  ear- 
lier  period.  Chinese  authors,  in  their  accounts  of  the 
early  history  of  the  Huns,  tell  us  that  the  title  given 
by  the  Huns  to  their  leaders  was  tangli-kutu  (or  tchen- 
jii).^  This  tangli-kutu  meant  in  their  language  Son  of 
Heaven,  and  you  will  remember  that  the  same  name, 
Son  of  Heaven,  is  still  given  to  the  Chinese  Emperor.^ 
It  does  not  mean  Son  of  God,  but  Emperor  by  the 
grace  of  God,  Now  the  Chinese  title  is  tien-tze^  cor- 
responding to  the  Hunnish  tangli-kutu.  Hence  Hun- 
nish  tang-li,  or  Mongolian  teng-ri,  are  the  same  as  the 
Chinese  Tien. 

Again,  in  the  historical  accounts  which  the  Chinese 
give  of  the  Tukiu^  the  ancestors  of  the  Turks,  it  is  said 
that  they  worshipped  the  spirits  of  the  Earth,  and  that 
they  called  these   spirits  pu-teng-i-li.     Here  the  first 

1  Turkish  "  tangry  "  (or  tenri),  the  Yakute  "  tangara." 

2  Schott,  Ueber  dans  Altaische  Sprachgeschlecht,  p.  9. 
*  Schott,  Chinesische  Literatur,  p.  63. 


THIRD  LECTURE.  93 

syllable  must  be  intended  for  earth,  wlule  in  teng-i-li 
we  have  again  tlie  same  word  as  tlie  Mongolian  tengri, 
only  us(k1,  even  at  tliat  early  time,  no  longer  in  the 
sense  of  heaven,  or  god  of  heaven,  but  as  a  name  of 
gods  and  spirits  in  general.  We  find  a  similar  transi- 
tion of  meaning  in  the  modern  Yakute  word  tangara. 
It  means  the  sky,  and  it  means  God  ;  but  among  the 
Christian  converts  in  Siberia,  tangara  is  also  used  to 
signify  "  the  Saints."  The  wild  reindeer  is  called  in 
Yakute  God's  reindeer,  because  it  lives  in  the  open  air, 
or  because  God  alone  takes  care  of  it. 

Here,  then,  we  have  the  same  kind  of  evidence 
wliich  enabled  us  to  establish  a  primitive  Aryan  and  a 
primitive  Semitic  religion  :  we  have  a  common  name, 
and  this  name  given  to  the  highest  deity,  preserved  in 
the  monosyllabic  language  of  China,  and  in  the  cog- 
nate, though  agsrlutinative,  dialects  of  some  of  the 
principal  North  Turanian  tribes.  We  find  in  these 
words,  not  merely  a  vague  similarity  of  sound  and 
meaning,  but,  watching  their  growth  in  Chinese,  Mon- 
golian, and  Turkish,  we  are  able  to  discover  in  them 
traces  of  organic  identity.  Everywhere  they  begin 
with  the  meaning  of  sky,  they  rise  to  the  meaning  of 
God,  and  they  sink  down  again  to  the  meaning  of  gods 
and  spirits.  The  changes  in  the  meaning  of  these 
words  run  parallel  with  the  changes  that  took  place  in 
the  relio-ions  of  these  nations,  which  in  China,  as  else- 
where,  combine  the  worship  of  numberless  spirits  with 
the  belief  in  a  supreme  heavenly  deity. 

Did  we  allow  ourselves  to  be  guided  by  mere  simi- 
larity of  sound  and  meaning,  it  would  be  easy,  for  in- 
stance, to  connect  the  name  given  to  the  highest  deity 
by  the  Samoyedes,  Num^  the  same  as  the  Finnish 
JumaQd)^  with   the  name  used  for  God  in  the  Ian- 


94  THE  SCIENCE   OF  RELIGION. 

guage  of  Tibet,  Nam.  This  might  seem  a  most  im- 
portant link,  because  it  would  help  us  to  establish  an 
on'cjinal  identity  of  religion  among  members  of  the 
North  and  South  Turanian  branches.  But  till  we 
know  something  of  the  antecedents  of  the  Tibetan 
word,  till  we  know,  as  I  said  before,  its  organic  growth, 
we  cannot  think  of  using  it  for  such  purposes. 

If  we  now  turn  for  a  moment  to  the  minor  spirits  be- 
lieved in  by  the  large  masses  in  China,  we  shall  easily 
see  that  they,  too,  in  their  character  are  strikingly  like 
the  spirits  worshi|>ped  by  the  North  Turanian  tribes. 
These  spirits  in  Chinese  are  called  Shin}  which  is 
really  the  name  given  to  every  invisible  power  or  in- 
fluence which  can  be  perceived  in  operation  in  the  uni- 
verse. Some  Shins  or  spirits  receive  real  worship, 
which  is  graduated  according  to  their  dignity  ;  others 
are  looked  upon  with  fear.  The  spiiits  of  pestilence 
are  driven  out  and  dispersed  by  exorcism  ;  many  ai'e 
only  talked  about.  There  are  so  many  spirits  that  it 
seems  impossible  to  fix  their  exact  number.  The  prin- 
cipal classes  '^  are  the  celestial  spirits  (tien  shin),  the 
terrestrial  spirits  (ti  ki),  and  the  ancestral  spirits  (jin 
kwei),  and  this  is  the  order  ^  in  which  they  are  ranked 
according  to  their  dignity.  Among  celestial  spirits 
(tien  shin)  we  find  the  spirits  of  the  sun  and  the  moon 
and  the  stars,  the  clouds,  wind,  thunder,  and  rain ; 
among  terrestrial  spirits,  those  of  the  mountains,  the 
fields,  the  grain,  the  rivers,  the  trees,  the  year.  Among 
the  departed  spirits  are  those  of  the  emperors,  the 
sages,  and  other  public  benefactors,  which  are  to  be  re- 

1  Medhurst,  Beplfj,  p.  11. 

2  Medhurst,  Reply,  1.  c,  p.  21. 

2  Ibid.  1.  c,  p.  22.  The  spirits  of  heaven  are  called  shin;  the  spir- 
its of  earth  are  called  ki ;  when  men  die  their  wandering  and  trans- 
formed souls  and  spirits  are  called  kwei. 


THIRD   LECTURE.  95 

vered  by  the  whole  nation,  while  each  family  has  its 
own  manes  which  are  treated  with  special  reverence 
and  lionored  by  many  superstitious  rites.^ 

The  same  state  of  reh^rious  feeHng  is  exhibited  among 
the  North  Turanian  tribes,  only  without  those  minute 
distinctions  and  regulations  in  which  the  Chinese  mind 
delights.  The  Samoyedes,  as  we  saw,  believed  in  a 
supreme  god  of  heaven,  called  Nam  ;  but  Castren,  who 
lived  so  long  among  them,  says  :  "  The  chief  deities 
invoked  by  their  priests  or  sorcerers,  the  Shamans,  are 
the  so-called  Tadehejos^^  invisible  spirits  dwelling  in 
the  air,  the  earth,  the  water,  and  everywhere  in  nature. 
I  have  heard  many  a  Samoyede  say  that  they  were 
merely  the  spirits  of  the  departed,  but  others  look 
upon  them  as  a  class  of  inferior  deities." 

The  same  scholar  tells  us  ^  that  ''the  mytholoc^y  of 
the  Finns  is  flooded  with  names  of  deities.  Every  ob- 
ject in  nature  has  a  genius,  called  haltia,  which  is 
supposed  to  be  its  creator  and  protector.  These  spirits 
were  not  tied  to  these  outward  objects,  but  were  free 
to  roam  about,  and  had  a  body  and  soul,  and  their  own 
well-marked  personality.  Nor  did  their  existence  de- 
pend on  the  existence  of  a  single  object ;  for  though 
there  was  no  object  in  nature  without  a  genius,  the 
genius  was  not  confined  to  any  single  object,  but  com- 
prehended the  whole  class  or  genus.  This  mountain- 
ash,  this  stone,  this  house  has  its  own  genius,  but  the 
same  genius  cares  for  all  other  mountain-ashes,  stones, 
and  houses." 

1  Medhurst,  Reply,  i.  p.  43.  The  great  sacrifices  are  offered  only  to 
Te  or  Shang-te,  the  same  as  Tien.  The  five  Te  which  used  to  he  joined 
with  Shang-te  at  the  great  border  sacrifice  were  only  the  five  powers  or 
qualities  of  Shang-te  personified.  Since  the  year  a.  d.  1369,  the  wor- 
ship of  these  five  Te  has  been  abolished. 

2  Castren,  Finnische  Mythologie,  p.  122.  ^  Page  105. 


96  THE  SCIENCE  OF  RELIGION. 

We  have  only  to  translate  this  into  the  langna^e  of 
logic,  and  we  shall  understand  at  once  what  has  hap- 
pened here  as  elsewhere  in  the  growth  of  religious 
ideas  and  mythological  names.  What  we  call  a  gen- 
eral conception,  or  what  used  to  be  called  "  essentia 
generalise''  "  the  tree-hood,"  **  the  stone-hood,"  *'  the 
house-hood,"  in  fact,  the  genus  tree,  stone,  and  house, 
is  what  the  Finns  and  Samoyedes  call  the  genius,  the 
haltia^  the  tadebejo^  and  what  the  Chinese  call  Shin. 
We  speak  very  glibly  of  an  essentia  generalise  but  to 
the  unschooled  mind  this  was  too  great  an  effort. 
Something  substantial  and  individual  had  to  be  retained 
when  trees  had  to  be  spoken  of  as  a  forest,  or  days  as  a 
year ;  and  in  this  transition  period  from  individual  to 
general  conceptions,  from  the  tangible  to  the  compre- 
hensible, from  the  real  to  the  abstract,  the  shadow,  the 
ghost,  the  power  or  the  spirit  of  the  forest,  of  the  year, 
of  the  clouds,  and  the  liglitning,  took  possession  of  the 
human  mind,  and  a  class  of  beings  was  called  into  ex- 
istence which  stands  before  us  as  so-called  deities  in  the 
religion  and  mythology  of  the  ancient  world. 

The  worship  of  ancestral  spirits  is  likewise  shared  in 
common  by  the  North  Turanian  races  and  the  Chinese. 
I  do  not  lay  much  stress  on  that  fact,  because  the  wor- 
ship of  the  spirits  of  the  departed  is  perhaps  the  most 
widely  spread  form  of  natural  superstition  all  over  the 
world.  It  is  important,  however,  to  observe  that  on 
this  point  also,  which  has  always  been  regarded  as  most 
^characteristic  of  Chinese  religion,  there  is  no  difference 
between  China  and  Northern  Asia.  Most  of  the  Finnish 
and  Altaic  tribes,  says  Castrdn,^  cherish  a  belief  that 
death,  which  they  look  upon  with  terrible  fear,  does  not 
entirely  destroy  individual  existence.  And  even  those 
1  Page  119. 


THIRD   LECTURE.  97 

who  do  not  profess  belief  in  a  future  life,  observe  cer- 
tain ceremonies  which  show  that  they  tliink  of  the  de- 
parted as  still  existing.  They  take  food,  dresses,  oxen, 
knives,  tinder-boxes,  kettles,  and  sledges,  and  place 
them  on  the  graves ;  nay,  if  pressed,  they  would  con- 
fess that  this  is  done  to  enable  the  departed  to  hunt,  to 
fish,  and  to  fight,  as  they  used  to  do  when  alive.  Lapps 
and  Finns  admit  that  the  body  decays,  but  they  imag- 
ine that  a  new  body  is  given  to  the  dead  in  the  lower 
world.  Others  speak  of  the  departed  as  ghosts  or 
spirits,  who  either  stay  in  the  grave  or  in  the  realms 
of  the  dead,  or  who  roam  about  on  earth,  particularly 
in  the  dead  of  night,  and  during  storm  and  rain.  They 
give  signs  of  tliemselves  in  the  howling  of  the  wind, 
the  rustling  of  leaves,  the  crackling  of  the  fire,  and  in 
a  thousa!id  other  ways.  They  are  invisible  to  ordinary 
mortals,  but  the  sorcerers  or  Shamans  can  see  them, 
and  can  even  divine  their  thoughts.  It  is  curious  that 
in  general  these  spirits  are  supj)osed  to  be  mischievous; 
and  the  most  mischievous  of  all  are  the  spirits  of  the 
departed  f)riests.^  They  interrupt  the  sleep,  they  send 
illness  and  misfortunes,  and  they  trouble  the  conscience 
of  their  relatives.  Everything  is  done  to  keep  them 
away.  When  the  corpse  has  been  carried  out  of  the 
house,  a  red  hot  stone  is  thrown  after  the  departed,  as 
a  charm  to  prevent  his  return.  The  offerings  of  food 
and  other  articles  deposited  on  the  grave  are  accounted 
for  by  some  as  depriving  the  dead  of  any  excuse  for 
coming  to  the  house,  and  fetching  these  things  himself. 
Among  the  Tchuvashes  a  son  uses  the  following  invo- 
cation when  offering  sacrifice  to  the  spirit  of  his  father: 
"We  honor  thee  with  a  feast;  look,  here  is  bread  for 
thee,  and  different  kinds  of  meat ;  thou  hast  all  thou 

1  Page  123. 
7 


98  THE   SCIENCE   OF   RELIGION. 

canst  want ;  but  do  not  trouble  us,  do  not  come  near 
us."i 

It  is  certainly  a  general  belief  that  if  tliey  receive  no 
such  offerings,  the  dead  revenge  themselves  by  sending 
diseases  and  other  misfortunes.  The  ancient  Hionfjnu 
or  Huns  killed  tlie  prisoners  of  war  on  the  tombs  of 
their  leaders  ;  for  the  Shamans  assured  them  that  the 
anger  of  the  spirits  could  not  be  appeased  otherwise. 
The  same  Huns  had  regular  sacrifices  in  honor  of  their 
ancestral  spirits.  One  tribe,  the  Topas,  which  had 
migrated  from  Siberia  to  Central  Asia,  sent  ambassa- 
dors with  offerings  to  the  tombs  of  their  ancestors. 
Their  tombs  were  protected  with  liigh  palings,  to  pre- 
vent the  living  from  clambering  in,  and  the  dead  from 
clambering  out.  Some  of  these  tombs  were  magnifi- 
cently adorned,^  and  at  last  grew  almost,  and  in  China^ 
altogether,  into  temples  wliere  the  spirits  of  tlie  de- 
parted were  actually  worshipped.  All  this  takes  place 
by  slow  degrees  ;  it  begins  with  placing  a  flower  on 
the  tombs  ;  it  ends  with  worshipping  the  spirits  of  de- 
parted emperors*  as  equals  of  the  Supreme  Spirit,  the 
Shang-te  or  Tien^  and  as  enjoying  a  divine  rank  far 
above  other  spirits  or  Shins.  The  difference  at  first 
sight,  between  the  minute  ceremonial  of  China  and  the 
homely  worship  of  Finns  and  Lapps  may  seem  enor- 
mous ;  but  if  we  trace  both  back  as  far  as  we  can,  we 
see  that  the  early  stages  of  their  religious  belief  are 
curiously  alike.  First,  a  worship  of  heaven,  as  the 
emblem  of  the  most  exalted  conception  which  the  un- 

1  Page  122.  2  Castren,  1.  c,  p.  122. 

^  When  an  emperor  died,  and  men  erected  an  ancestral  temple,  and 
set  up  a  parental  tablet  (as  a  resting-place  for  the  "  shin  "  or  spirit  of 
the  departed),  they  called  him  Te.  —  Medhurst,  Inquiry,  p.  7;  from 
Le-ke,  vol.  i.  p.  49. 

*  Medhurst,  Inquiry,  p.  45. 


THIKD   LECTURE.  99 

tutored  mind  of  man  can  entertain,  expanding  with  the 
expanding  thouglits  of  its  worshippers,  and  eventually 
leadin^i  and  lifting  the  soul  from  liorizon  to  horizon,  to 
a  belief  in  that  wliich  is  beyond  all  horizons,  a  belief  in 
that  which  is  infinite.  Secondly,  a  belief  in  deathless 
spirits  or  powers  of  nature  ;  which  supplies  the  more 
immediate  and  every-day  wants  of  the  religious  in- 
stinct of  man,  satisfies  the  imagination,  and  furnishes 
the  earliest  poetry  with  elevated  themes.  Lastly,  a 
belief  in  the  existence  of  ancestral  spirits  ;  which  im- 
plies, consciously  or  unconsciously,  in  a  spiritual  or  in 
a  material  form,  that  which  is  one  of  the  life-springs 
of  all  religion,  a  belief  in  immortality. 

Allovv  me  in  conclusion  to  recapitulate  shortly  the 
results  of  this  lecture. 

We  found,  first  of  all,  that  there  is  a  natural  con- 
nection between  language  and  religion,  and  that  there- 
fore the  classification  of  languages  is  applicable  to  the 
ancient  religions  of  the  world. 

We  found,  secondly,  that  there  was  a  common  Aryan 
religion  before  the  separation  of  the  Aryan  race ;  a 
common  Semitic  religion  before  the  separation  of  the 
Semitic  race  ;  and  a  common  Turanic  religion  before 
the  separation  of  the  Chinese  and  the  other  tribes  be- 
loncrincr  to  the  Turanian  class.  We  found,  in  fact,  three 
ancient  centres  of  religion  as  we  had  found  before  three 
ancient  centres  of  language,  and  we  have  thus  gained, 
I  believe,  a  truly  historical  basis  for  a  scientific  classi- 
fication of  the  principal  religions  of  the  world. 


FOURTH   LECTURE. 


TTTHEN  I  came  to  deliver  the  first  of  this  short 
^  *  course  of  lectures,  I  confess  I  felt  sorry  for  hav- 
in|]j  undertaken  so  difficult  a  task  ;  and  if  I  could  have 
withdrawn  from  it  with  honor,  I  should  gladly  have 
done  so.  Now  that  I  have  only  this  one  lecture  left, 
I  feel  equally  sorry,  and  I  wish  I  could  continue  my 
course,  in  order  to  say  something  more  of  what  I 
wished  to  say,  and  what  in  four  lectures  I  could  say 
but  very  imperfectly.  From  the  announcement  of  my 
lectures  you  must  have  seen  that  in  what  I  called 
"  An  Introduction  to  the  Science  of  Relio-ion  "  I  did 
not  intend  to  treat  of  more  than  some  preliminary 
questions.  T  chiefly  wanted  to  show  in  what  sense  a 
truly  scientific  study  of  religion  was  possible,  what 
materials  there  are  to  enable  us  to  gain  a  trustworthy 
knowledge  of  the  principal  religions  of  the  world,  and 
according  to  what  principles  these  religions  may  be 
classified.  It  would  perhaps  have  been  more  interest^ 
ing  to  some  of  my  hearers  if  we  had  rushed  at  once 
into  the  ancient  temples  to  look  at  the  broken  idols  of 
the  past,  and  to  discover,  if  possible,  some  of  the  fun- 
damental ideas  that  found  expression  m  the  ancient 
systems  of  faith  and  worship.  But  in  order  to  explore 
with  real  advantage  any  ruins,  whether  of  stone  or  of 
thought,  it  is  necessary  that  we  should  know  where 


FOURTH  LECTURE.  101 

to  look  and  how  to  look.  In  most  works  on  the  history 
of  ancient  religions  we  are  driven  about  like  forlorn 
tourists  in  a  vast  museum  where  ancient  and  modern 
statues,  gems  of  Oriental  and  European  workmanship, 
original  works  of  art  and  mere  copies  are  piled  up  to- 
gether, and  at  the  end  of  our  journey  we  only  feel  be- 
wildered and  disheartened.  We  have  seen  much,  no 
doubt,  but  we  carry  away  very  little.  It  is  better,  be- 
fore we  enter  into  these  labyrinths,  that  we  should 
spend  a  few  hours  in  making  up  our  minds  as  to  what 
we  really  want  to  see  and  what  we  may  pass  by  ;  and 
if  in  these  introductory  lectures  we  have  arrived  at  a 
clear  view  on  these  points,  you  will  find  hereafter  that 
our  time  has  not  been  spent  in  vain. 

Throughout  these  introductory  lectures,  you  will 
have  observed  that  I  have  carefully  abstained  from 
entering  on  the  domain  of  what  I  call  Theoretic^  as 
distinguished  from  Comparative  Theology,  Theoretic 
theology,  or,  as  it  is  called,  the  philosophy  of  religion, 
has,  as  far  as  I  can  judge,  its  right  place  at  the  end, 
not  at  the  beginning  of  comparative  theology.  I  make 
no  secret  of  my  own  conviction  that  a  study  of  com- 
parative theology  will  produce  with  regard  to  theoretic 
theology  the  same  revolution  which  a  study  of  compar- 
ative philology  has  produced  in  what  used  to  be  called 
the  pliilosophy  of  language.  You  know  how  all  spec- 
ulations on  the  nature  of  language,  on  its  origin,  its 
development,  its  natural  growth  and  inevitable  decay 
have  had  to  be  taken  up  afresh  from  the  very  begin- 
ning, after  the  new  light  thrown  on  the  history  of 
language  by  the  comparative  method.  I  look  forward 
to  the  same  results  with  respect  to  philosophical  inqui- 
ries into  the  nature  of  religion,  its  origin,  and  its  devel- 
opment.    I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  all  former  specu- 


102  THE   SCIENCE   OF   RELIGION. 

lations  on  these  subjects  will  become  useless.  Plato's 
"  Cratylus,"  even  tlie  "  Hermes  "  of  Harris,  and  Home 
Tooke's  "  Diversions  of  Purley  "  have  not  become  use- 
less after  tlieMork  done  by  Grimm  and  Bopp,  by  Hum- 
boldt and  Bunsen.  But  I  believe  that  philosophers 
who  speculate  on  the  origin  of  religion  and  on  the 
psychological  conditions  of  faith,  will  in  future  write 
more  circumspectly,  and  with  less-  of  that  dogmatic 
assurance  which  has  hitherto  distinguished  so  many 
speculations  on  the  pliilosophy  of  religion,  not  except- 
incr  those  of  Schellincr  and  Hecrel.  Before  the  rise  of 
geology  it  was  easy  to  speculate  on  the  origin  of  the 
earth  ;  before  the  rise  of  glossology,  any  theories  on 
the  revealed,  the  mimetic,  the  interjectional,  or  the 
conventional  origin  of  language  might  easily  be  held 
and  defended.  Not  so  now,  when  facts  have  filled 
the  place  that  was  formerly  open  to  theories,  and  when 
those  who  have  worked  most  carefully  among  the 
debris  of  the  earth  or  the  strata  of  lano-uaores  are  most 
reluctant  to  approach  the  great  problem  of  the  first 
beginnings. 

So  much  in  order  to  explain  why  in  this  introduc- 
tory course  I  have  confined  myself  within  narrower 
limits  than  some  of  my  hearers  seem  to  have  expected. 
And  now,  as  I  have  but  one  hour  left,  I  shall  try  to 
make  the  best  use  of  it  I  can,  by  devoting  it  entirely 
to  the  point  on  which  I  have  not  yet  touched,  namely, 
on  the  right  spirit  in  which  ancient  religions  ought  to 
be  studied  and  interpreted. 

No  judge,  if  he  had  before  him  the  worst  of  crim- 
inals, would  treat  him  as  most  histoi'ians  and  theolo- 
gians have  treated  the  religions  of  the  world.  Every 
act  in  the  lives  of  their  founders,  which  shows  that 
they  were  but  men,  is  eagerly  seized  and  judged  with- 


FOURTH  LECTURE.  103 

out  mercy  ;  every  doctrine  that  is  not  carefully  guarded 
is  interpreted  in  the  worst  sense  that  it  will  bear; 
every  act  of  worship  that  differs  from  our  own  way  of 
serving  God  is  held  up  to  ridicule  and  contempt.  And 
this  is  not  done  by  accident,  bat  w^ith  a  set  purpose, 
nay,  with  something  of  that  artificial  sense  of  duty 
wdiich  stimulates  the  counsel  for  the  defense  to  see 
nothing  but  an  angel  in  one  client,  and  anything  but 
an  angel  in  the  plaintiff  on  the  other  side.  The  result 
has  been  —  as  it  could  not  be  otherwise  —  a  complete 
miscarriage  of  justice,  an  utter  misapprehension  of  the 
real  character  and  purpose  of  the  ancient  religions  of 
mankind  ;  and,  as  a  necessary  consequence,  a  failure 
in  discovering  the  peculiar  features  which  reall}^  dis- 
tinguish Christianity  from  all  the  religions  of  the  world, 
and  secure  to  its  founder  his  own  peculiar  place  in  the 
history  of  the  world,  far  away  from  Vasish^Aa,  Zo- 
roaster, and  Buddha,  from  Moses  and  Mohammed, 
from  Confucius  and  Lao-tse.  By  unduly  depreciating 
all  other  religions,  we  have  placed  our  own  in  a  posi- 
tion which  its  founder  never  intended  for  it ;  we  have 
torn  it  away  from  the  sacred  context  of  the  history  of 
the  world  ;  we  have  ignored,  or  willfully  narrowed,  the 
sundry  times  and  divers  manners  in  which,  in  times 
past,  God  spake  unto  the  fathers  by  the  prophets  ;  and 
instead  of  recognizing  Christianity  as  coming  in  the 
fullness  of  time,  and  as  the  fulfillment  of  the  hopes 
and  desires  of  the  whole  world,  we  have  brought  our- 
selves to  look  upon  its  advent  as  the  only  broken  link 
in  that  unbroken  chain  which  is  rightly  called  the  Di- 
vine government  of  the  world.  Nay,  worse  than  this :: 
there  are  people  who,  from  mere  ignorance  of  the 
ancient  religions  of  mankind,  have  adopted  a  doctrine 
more  unchristian  than  any  that  could  be  found  in  the 


104  THE   SCIENCE   OF  RELIGION. 

pages  of  the  religious  books  of  antiquity,  namely,  that 
all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  before  the  rise  of  Chris- 
tianity, were  mere  outcasts,  forsaken  and  forgotten  of 
their  Father  in  heaven,  without  a  knowledge  of  God, 
without  a  hope  of  salvation.  If  a  comparative  study 
of  the  religions  of  the  world  produced  but  this  one 
result,  that  it  drove  this  godless  heresy  out  of  every 
Christian  heart,  and  made  us  see  aorain  in  the  whole 
history  of  the  world  the  eternal  wisdom  and  love  of 
God  toward  all  his  creatures,  it  would  have  done  a 
good  work.  And  it  is  high  time  that  this  good  work 
should  be  done.  We  have  learnt  to  do  justice  to  the 
ancient  poetry,  the  political  institutions,  the  legal  enact- 
ments, the  systems  of  philosophy,  and  the  works  of 
art  of  nations  differing  from  ourselves  in  many  respects  ; 
we  have  brought  ourselves  to  value  even  the  crude 
and  imperfect  beginnings  in  all  these  spheres  of  men- 
tal activity  ;  and  I  believe  we  have  thus  learnt  lessons 
from  ancient  history  which  we  could  not  have  learnt 
anywhere  else.  We  can  admire  the  temples  of  the 
ancient  world,  whether  in  Egypt,  Babylon,  or  Greece  ; 
we  can  stand  in  raptures  before  the  statues  of  Phidias ; 
and  only  when  we  approach  the  religious  conceptions 
which  find  their  expression  in  the  temples  of  Minerva 
and  in  the  statues  of  Jupiter,  we  turn  away  with  pity 
or  scorn,  we  call  their  gods  mere  idols  and  images, 
and  class  their  worshippers —  Perikles,  Phidias,  Sok- 
rates,  and  Plato  —  with  the  worshippers  of  stocks  and 
stones.  I  do  not  deny  that  the  religions  of  the  Baby- 
lonians, Egyptians,  Greeks,  and  Romans  were  imper- 
fect and  full  of  errors,  particularly  in  their  later  stages  ; 
but  I  maintain  that  the  fact  of  these  ancient  people 
having  any  religion  at  all,  however  imperfect,  raises 
them  higher,  and  brings  them  nearer  to  us,  than  all 


FOURTH  LECTURE.  105 

their  works  of  art,  all  tlieir  poetry,  all  their  philosophy. 
Neither  their  art  nor  their  poetry  nor  their  piiilosophy 
would  have  been  possible  without  religion  ;  and  if  we 
will  but  look  without  prejudice,  if  we  will  but  judge 
as  we  ought  always  to  judge,  with  unwearying  love 
and  charity,  we  shall  be  surprised  at  that  new  world 
of  beauty  and  truth  which,  like  the  azure  of  a  vernal 
sky,  rises  before  us  from  behind  the  clouds  of  the 
ancient  mythologies. 

We  can  speak  freely  and  fearlessly  ;  we  can  afford 
to  be  charitable.  There  was  a  time  when  It  was  oth- 
erwise. There  was  a  time  when  people  imagined  that 
truth,  particularly  the  highest  truth,  the  truth  of  relig- 
ion, could  only  conquer  by  blind  zeal,  by  fire  and 
sword.  At  that  time  all  idols  were  to  be  overthrown, 
their  altars  to  be  destroyed,  and  their  worshippers  to 
be  cut  to  pieces.     But  there  came  a  time  when  the 

sword  was  to  be  put  up  into  its  place And 

if  after  that  time  there  was  a  work  to  work  and  a  fight 
to  fight,  which  required  the  fiery  zeal  of  apostles  and 
martyrs,  that  time  also  is  now  past ;  the  conquest  is 
gained,  and  we  have  time  to  reflect  calmly  on  what  is 
past  and  what  is  still  to  come.  We  are  no  longer 
afraid  of  Baal  or  Jupiter.  Our  dangers  and  our  diffi- 
culties are  now  of  a  very  different  kind.  If  we  be- 
lieve that  there  is  a  God,  and  that  He  created  heaven 
and  earth,  and  that  He  ruleth  the  world  by  his  un- 
ceasing providence,  we  cannot  believe  that  millions  of 
human  beings,  all  created  like  ourselves  in  the  image 
of  God,  were,  in  their  time  of  ignorance,  so  utterly 
abandoned  that  their  whole  rello-ion  was  falsehood, 
their  whole  worship  a  farce,  their  whole  life  a  mockery. 
An  honest  and  independent  study  of  the  religions  of 
the  world  will  teach  us  that  it  was  not  so,  —  will  teach 


106  THE   SCIENCE   OF   RELIGION. 

US  the  same  lesson  wliich  it,  tanglit  St.  Augustine, —  that 
there  is  no  religion  wliich  (h)es  not  contain  some  grains 
of  truth.  Nay,  it  will  teach  us  more  :  it  will  enable 
us  to  see  in  the  history  of  the  ancient  religions,  more 
clearly  than  anywhere  else,  the  Divine  educatio7i  of 
the  human  race. 

I  know  this  is  a  view  which  has  been  much  objected 
to,  but  I  hold  it  as  strongly  as  ever.  If  we  must  not 
read  in  the  history  of  the  whole  human  race  the  daily 
lessons  of  a  Divine  teacher  and  guide,  if  there  is  no 
purpose,  no  increasing  purpose  in  the  succession  of  the 
religions  of  the  world,  then  we  might  as  well  shut  up 
the  godless  book  of  history  altogether,  and  look  upon 
men  as  no  better  than  the  grass  which  is  to-day  in  the 
field  and  to-morrow  cast  into  the  oven.  Man  would 
then  be  indeed  of  less  value  than  the  sparrows,  for 
none  of  them  is  forgotten  before  God.  But  those  who 
imao!;ine  that,  in  order  to  make  sure  of  their  own  sal- 
vation,  they  must  have  a  great  gulf  fixed  between 
themselves  and  all  the  other  nations  of  the  world, — 
between  their  own  religion  and  the  religions  of  Zoro- 
aster, Buddha,  or  Confucius,  —  can  hardly  be  aware 
how  strongly  the  interpretation  of  the  history  of  the 
religions  of  the  world,  as  an  education  of  the  human 
race,  can  be  supported  by  authorities  before  which  they 
themselves  would  probably  bow  in  silence.  We  need 
not' appeal  to  a  living  bishop  to  prove  the  soundness, 
or  to  a  German  philosopher  to  prove  the  truth  of  this 
view.  If  we  wanted  authorities  we  could  aj)peal  to 
Popes,  to  the  Fathers  of  the  Church,  to  the  Apostles 
themselves,  for  they  have  all  upheld  the  same  view 
with  no  uncertain  voice. 

I  pointed  out  before  that  the  simultaneous  study  of 
the  Old  and  the  New  Testament,  with  an  occasional 


FOURTH   LECTURE.  107 

reference  to  the  relio;ion  and  pliilosojihy  of  Greece  and 
Rome,  had  supplied  Christian  divines  with  some  of  the 
most  useful  lessons  for  a  wider  comparison  of  all  the 
relio-ions  of  the  world.  In  studvino;  the  Old  Testa- 
ment,  and  observino-  in  it  ihe  absence  of  some  of  the 
most  essential  truths  of  Christiaiiitv,  they,  too,  had 
asked  with  surprise  why  the  interval  between  the  fall 
of  man  and  his  redemption  had  been  so  long,  why  men 
were  allowed  so  lono;  to  walk  in  darkness,  and  whether 
the  heathens  had  really  no  place  in  the  counsels  of 
God.  Here  is  the  answer  of  a  Pope,  of  Leo  the 
Great  i  (440-461)  :  — 

"  Let  those  who  with  impious  murmurings  find  fault  with  the  Di- 
vine dispensations,  and  who  complain  about  the  lateness  of  Our 
Lord's  nativity,  cease  from  their  grievances,  as  if  what  was  carried 
out  in  this  last  age  of  the  world  had  not  been  impending  in  time 
past What  the  apostles  preached,  the  prophets  had  an- 
nounced before,  and  what  has  always  been  believed  cannot  be 
said  to  have  been  fulfilled  too  late.  By  this  delay  of  his  work 
of  salvation  the  wisdom  and  love  of  God  have  only  made  us 
more  fitted  for  his  call ;  so  that,  what  had  been  announced  be- 
fore by  many  signs  and  words  and  mysteries  during  so  many 
centuries,  should  not  be  doubtful  or  uncertain  in  the  days  of  the 

gospel God  has  not  provided  for  the  interests  of  men  by 

a  new  counsel  or  by  a  late  compassion  ;  but  He  had  instituted 
from  the  beginning  for  all  men  one  and  the  same  path  of  salva- 
tion." 

Tliis  is  the  language  of  a  Pope  —  of  Leo  the  Great. 
Now  let  us  hear  what  St.  Ii'enaeus  says,  and  how  he 
explains  to  himself  the  necessary  imperfection  of  the 
early  religions  of  mankind.  "  A  mother,"  he  says, 
"may  indeed  offer  to  her  infant  a  complete  repast,  but 
her  infant  cannot  yet  receive  the  food  which  is  meant 
for  full-grown  men.  In  the  same  manner  God  might 
indeed  from   the   beginning  have   offered  to  man  the 

1  Hardwick,  Christ  and  other  Masters,  vol.  i.  p.  85. 


lOS 


THE  SCIENCE   OF  RELIGION. 


truth  in  its  completeness,  bat  man  was  unable  to  re- 
ceive it,  for  he  was  still  a  cl)ild." 

If  this,  too,  is  considered  a  presumptuous  reading  of 
the  couiisels  of  God,  we  have,  as  a  last  appeal,  the 
words  of  St.  Paul,  tluit  ''the  law  was  the  school-master 
to  the  Jews,"  joined  with  the  words  of  St.  Peter,  '*  Of 
a  truth  I  perceive  that  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons, 
but  in  every  nation  he  that  feareth  Him  and  worketh 
righteousness  is  accepted  with  Him.'' 

But,  as  I  said  before,  we  need  not  appeal  to  any  au- 
thorities if  we  will  but  read  the  records  of  the  ancient 
religions  of  the  world  with  an  open  heart  and  in  a 
charitable  spirit  —  in  a  spirit  that  thinketh  no  evil,  but 
rejoiceth  in  the  truth  wherever  it  can  be  found. 

I  suppose  that  most  of  us,  sooner  or  later  in  life, 
have  felt  how  the  whole  world  —  this  wicked  world,  as 
we  call  it  —  is  changed  as  if  by  magic,  if  once  we  can 
make  up  our  mind  to  give  men  credit  for  good  motives, 
never  to  be  suspicious,  never  to  think  evil,  never  to 
think  ourselves  better  than  our  neighbors.  Trust  a 
man  to  be  true  and  good,  and,  even  if  lie  is  not,  your 
trust  will  tend  to  make  him  true  and  good.  It  is  the 
same  with  the  religions  of  the  world.  Let  us  but  once 
make  up  our  mind  to  look  in  them  for  what  is  true  and 
goofl,  and  we  shall  hardly  know  our  old  religion  again. 
If  they  are  the  work  of  the  devil,  as  many  of  us  have 
been  brought  up  to  believe,  then  never  was  there  a 
kingdom  so  divided  against  itself  from  the  very  begin- 
ning. There  is  no  religicm  —  or,  if  there  is,  I  do  not 
know  it —  which  does  not  say,  *'  Do  good,  avoid  evil." 
There  is  none  which  does  not  contain  what  Rabbi  Hil- 
lel  called  the  quintessence  of  all  religions,  the  simple 
warning,  *'  Be  good,  my  boy."  "  Be  good,  my  boy," 
may  seem  a  very  short  catechism  ;  but  let  us  add  to  it, 


FOURTH  LECTURE.  109 

"  Be  good,  my  boy,  for  God's  sake,"  and  we  have  in  it 
very  nearly  tlie  whole  of  the  Law  and  the  Prophets. 

I  wish  I  could  read  you  the  extracts  I  have  collected 
from  the  sacred  books  of  the  ancient  world,  grains  of 
truth  more  precious  to  me  than  grains  of  gold  ;  ]>rayers 
so  simple  and  so  true  that  we  could  ail  join  in  them 
if  we  once  accustomed  ourselves  to  the  strange  sounds 
of  Sanskrit  or  Chinese.  I  can  to-day  give  you  a  few 
specimens  only. 

Here  is  a  prayer  of  Vasishf^a,  a  Vedic  prophet,  ad- 
dressed to  Varuna,  the  Greek  Oupavo?,  an  ancient  name 
of  the  sky  and  of  the  god  who  resides  in  the  sky. 

I  shall  read  you  one  verse  at  least  in  the  original  — 
it  is  the  86th  hymn  of  the  seventh  book  of  the  Rig- 
Veda  —  so  that  you  may  hear  the  very  sounds  which 
more  than  three  thousand  years  ago  were  uttered  for 
the   first  time  in  a  village  on  the  borders  of  the  Sut- 
ledge,  then   called  the  AS'atadru,  by  a  man  who  felt  as 
we  feel,  who  spoke  as  we  speak,  who  believed  in  many 
points   as  we  believe  —  a    dark-complexioned  Hindu, 
shepherd,  poet,  priest,  patriarch,  and  certainly  a  man 
who,  in   the  noble  army  of  ])rophets,  deserves  a  place 
by  the  side  of  David.     And  does  it  not  show  the  in- 
destructibility of  the  spirit,  if  we  see  how  the  waves 
which,  by  a  poetic    impulse,  he  started    on    the  vast 
ocean   of  thought  have  been  heaving,  and  spreading, 
and  widening,  till  after  centuries  and  centuries  they 
strike   against  our  shores  and  tell  us,  in  accents  that 
cannot  be  mistaken,  what  passed  through  the  mind  of 
that  ancient  Aryan  poet  when  he  felt  ihe  presence  of 
an  Almighty  God,  the  maker  of  heaven  and  earth,  and 
felt  at  the  same  time  the  burden  of  his  sin,  and  prayed 
to  his  God  that  He  might  take  that  burden  from  him, 
that  He  might  forgive  him  his  sin.     When  you  listen 


110  THE   SCIENCE   OF  RELIGION. 

to  the  strange  sounds  of  the  Vedic  hjmn,  you  are  lis- 
tening, even  in  tliis  Royal  Institution,  to  spirit-rapping 
—  to  real  spirit-rappincj.  Vasisli^Aa  is  really  among  us 
again,  and  if  you  will  accept  me  as  interpreter,  you 
will  find  that  we  can  all  understand  what  the  old  poet 
wished  to  say  :  — 

Dhira  tv  asya  raahina  ^anuwshi, 
vi  yas  tastambha  rodasi  kid  urvi,  ^ 

pra  nakam  rishvaw  nunude  b/ihantam, 
dvita  nakshatram  papratha^  ka  bhuma. 

Wise  and  mighty  are  the  works  of  him  who  stemmed  asunder 
the  wide  firmaments  (heaven  and  earth).  He  lifted  on  high  the 
bright  and  glorious  heaven  ;  he  stretched  out  apart  the  starry 
sky  and  the  earth. 

Do  I  say  this  to  my  own  self?  How  can  I  get  near  unto  Va- 
runa  ?  Will  he  accept  my  offering  without  displeasure  ?  When 
shall  I,  with  a  quiet  mind,  see  him  propitiated  ? 

I  ask,  O  VaruAja,  wishing  to  know  this  my  sin  ;  I  go  to  ask 
the  wise.  Tlie  sages  all  tell  me  the  same  :  "  Varuna  it  is  who  is 
angry  with  thee." 

Was  it  for  an  old  sin,  O  Varu^ja,  that  thou  wishest  to  destroy 
thy  friend,  who  always  praises  thee  ?  Tell  me,  thou  unconquer- 
able Lord  !  and  I  will  quickly  turn  to  thee  with  praise,  freed 
from  sin. 

Absolve  us  from  the  sins  of  our  fathers,  and  from  those  which 
we  committed  with  our  own  bodies.  Release  Vasish/Aa,  O  King, 
like  a  thief  who  has  feasted  on  stolen  cattle  ;  release  him  like  a 
calf  from  the  rope. 

It  was  not  our  own  doing,  O  Varuna,  it  was  a  slip  ;  an  intoxi- 
cating draught,  passion,  dice,  thoughtlessness.  The  old  is  there  to 
mislead  the  young ;  even  sleep  is  not  free  from  mischief 

Let  me  without  sin  give  satisfaction  to  the  angry  god,  like  a 
slave  to  his  bounteous  lord.  The  lord  god  enlightened  the  fool- 
ish ;  he,  the  wisest,  leads  his  worshipper  to  wealth. 

O  lord  Varuna,  may  this  sons  go  well  to  thy  heart !  May  we 
prosper  in  keeping  and  acquiring !  Protect  us,  O  gods,  always 
with  your  blessings. 

T  am  not  blind    to    the    blemishes  of  this    ancient 


FOUETH   LECTURE.  Ill 

prayer,  but  I  am  not  blind  to  its  beauty  either,  and  I 
think  3'ou  will  admit  tliat  the  discovery  of  even  one 
such  poem  among  the  hymns  of  the  Rig- Veda,  and  the 
certainty  that  such  a  poem  was  composed  in  India  at 
least  three  thousand  years  ago,  without  any  inspiration 
but  that  which  all  can  find  who  seek  for  it  if  haply 
they  may  find  it,  is  well  worth  the  labor  of  a  life.  It 
shows  that  man  was  never  forsaken  of  God,  and  that 
conviction  is  worth  more  to  the  student  of  history  than 
all  the  dynasties  of  Babylon  and  Egypt,  worth  more 
than  all  hieu.strine  villages,  worth  more  than  the  skulls 
and  jaw-bones  of  Neanderthal  or  Abbeville. 

My  next  extract  will  be  from  the  Zendavesta,  the 
sacred  book  of  the  Zoroastrians,  older  in  its  language 
than  the  cuneiform  inscriptions  of  Cyrus,  Darius, 
Xerxes,  and  still  believed  in  by  a  small  remnant  of  the 
Persian  race,  now  settled  at  Bombay,  and  known  all 
over  the  world  by  the  name  of  Parsis.^ 

I  ask  thee,  tell  me  the  truth,  O  Ahura !  Who  was  from  the 
beginning  the  father  of  the  pure  creatures  ?  Who  has  made  a 
path  for  the  sun  and  for  the  stars  V  Wlio  (but  thou)  makes  the 
moon  to  increase  and  to  decrease  ?  That,  O  Mazda,  and  other 
thing?,  I  wish  to  know. 

I  ask  thee,  tell  me  the  truth,  O  Ahura  !  Who  holds  the  earth 
and  the  clouds  that  they  do  not  fall  ?  AVho  holds  the  sea  and 
the  trees  V  Who  has  given  swiftness  to  the  wind  and  the  clouds  ? 
Who  is  the  creator  of  the  good  spirit  ? 

I  ask  thee,  tell  me  the  truth,  O  Ahura  !  Who  has  made  the 
kindly  light  and  the  darkness,  who  has  made  the  kindly  sleep 
and  the  awaking  ?  Who  has  made  the  mornings,  the  noons, 
and  the  nights  ?  Who  has  made  him  who  ponders  on  the  meas- 
ure of  the  laws  ? 

We  cannot  always  be  certain  that  we  have  found 
the  right  sense  of  the  Zendavesta,  for  its  language  is 

1  Yasna,  xliv.  3,  ed.  Brockhaus,  p.  130;  Spiegel,  Yasna,  p.  146; 
Haug,  Essays,  p.  150. 


112  THE  SCIENCE  OF  RELIGION. 

full  of  difficulties  ;  yet  so  much  is  clear,  that  in  the 
Bible  of  Zoroaster  every  man  is  called  upon  to  take 
his  part  in  tlie  great  battle  between  Good  and  Evil 
which  is  always  going  on,  and  is  assured  that  in  the 
end  ijood  will  prevail. 

What  shall  I  quote  from  Buddha  ?  for  there  is  so 
much  in  his  sayings  and  his  parables  that  it  is  indeed 
difficult  to  choose.  In  a  collection  of  his  sayings, 
written  in  Pali, —  of  which  I  have  lately  pubhshed  a 
translation,^ —  we  read  :  — 

1.  All  that  we  are  is  the  result  of  what  we  have  thought ;  it  is 
founded  on  our  thoughts,  it  is  made  up  of  our  thoughts.  If  a 
man  speaks  or  acts  with  an  evil  thought,  pain  follows  him  as  the 
wheel  follows  the  foot  of  him  who  draws  the  cart. 

49.  As  the  bee  collects  honey  and  departs  without  injuring 
the  flower,  so  let  the  sage  dwell  on  earth. 

62.  "  These  sons  belong  to  me,  and  this  wealth  belongs  to 
me,"  with  such  thoughts  a  fool  is  tormented.  He  himself  does 
Qot  belong  to  himself;  how  much  less  sons  and  wealth  ! 

121.  Let  no  man  think  lightly  of  evil,  saying  in  his  heart,  It 
will  not  come  nigh  unto  me.  Let  no  man  think  lightly  of  good, 
Baying  in  his  heart,  It  will  not  benefit  me.  Even  by  the  falling 
of  water-drops  a  water-pot  is  tilled. 

173.  He  whose  evil  deeds  are  covered  by  good  deeds,  bright- 
ens up  this  world  like  the  moon  when  she  rises  from  behind  the 
clouds. 

223.  Let  a  man  overcome  anger  by  love,  evil  by  good,  the 
greedy  by  liberality,  the  liar  by  truth. 

264.  Not  by  tonsure  does  an  undisciplined  man  become  a 
saint :  can  a  man  be  a  saint  who  is  still  held  captive  by  desires 
and  greediness  ? 

394.  What  is  the  use  of  platted  hair,  O  fool !  what  of  the 
raiment  of  goat-skins?  Within  thee  there  is  ravening,  but  the 
outside  thou  makest  clean. 

1  Buddkaghosha's  Parables,  translated  from  Burmese  by  Captain 
Rogers  ;  with  an  Introduction  containing  Buddha's  "  Dharamapada," 
or  "  Path  of  Virtue,"  translated  from  Pali  by  Max  Miiller.  London : 
Triibner  &  Co.,  1870. 


FOURTH   LECTUBE.  113 

In  no  religion  are  we  so  constantly  reminded  of  our 
own  as  in  Buddhism,  and  yet  in  no  religion  has  man 
been  drawn  away  so  far  from  the  truth  as  in  the  re- 
ligion of  Buddlia.  Buddhism  and  Christianity  are 
indeed  the  two  opposite  poles  with  regard  to  the 
most  essential  points  of  religion  ;  Buddhism  ignor- 
ing all  feeling  of  dependence  on  a  higher  power,  and 
therefore  denying  the  very  existence  of  a  supreme 
Deity;  Christianity  resting  entirely  on  a  belief  in  God 
as  the  Father,  in  the  Son  of  Man  as  the  Son  of  God, 
and  making  us  all  children  of  God  by  faith  in  his  Son. 
Yet  between  the  language  of  Buddha  and  his  disciples 
and  the  language  of  Christ  and  his  apostles  there  are 
strange  coincidences.  Even  some  of  the  Buddhist 
legends  and  parables  sound  as  if  taken  from  the  New 
Testament,  tliough  we  know  that  many  of  them  ex- 
isted before  the  be^innlno;  of  the  Christian  era. 

Thus,  one  day  Ananda,  the  disciple  of  Buddha, 
after  a  long  walk  in  the  country,  meets  with  Matangi, 
a  woman  of  the  low  caste  of  the  Kandalas^  near  a 
well,  and  asks  her  for  some  water.  She  tells  him  what 
she  is,  and  that  she  must  not  come  near  him.  But  he 
replies,  "  My  sister,  I  ask  not  for  thy  caste  or  thy  fam- 
ily, I  ask  only  for  a  draught  of  water."  She  after- 
wards becomes  herself  a  disciple  of  Buddha.^ 

While  in  the  New  Testament  we  read,  "  If  thy 
right  eye  offend  thee,  pluck  it  out  and  cast  it  from 
thee,"  we  find  among  the  Buddhists  a  parable  of  a 
young  priest  whose  bright  and  lovely  eyes  proved  too 
attractive  to  a  lady  whom  he  visits,  and  who  thereupon 
plucks  out  his  right  eye  and  shows  it  to  her  that  she 
may  see  how  hideous  it  is.^ 

i  Burnouf,  Introduction  a  VHistoire  du  Buddhisme,  p.  205. 
2  See  Katha-saritsagara,  ed.  Brockhaus,  vi.  28,  p.  14. 


114  THE   SCIENCE   OF   RELIGION. 

According  to  Buddha,  the  motive  of  all  our  actions 
should  be  pity  or  love  for  our  neiglihor. 

And  as  in  Buddhism,  so  even  in  the  writings  of 
Confucius  we  find  again  what  we  value  most  in  our 
religion.  I  shall  quote  but  one  saying  of  the  Chinese 
sage.^ 

**  What  you  do  not  like  when  done  to  yourself,  do 
not  do  that  to  others." 

One  passage  only  from  the  founder  of  the  second 
religion  in  China,  from  Lao-tse  (cap.  25)  :  — 

There  is  an  Infinite  Being,  wliich  existed  before  heaven  and 
earth. 

How  calm  it  is  !  how  free  ! 

It  lives  alone,  it  changes  not. 

It  moves  everywhere,  but  it  never  suffers. 

We  may  look  on  it  as  the  Mother  of  the  Universe. 

I,  I  know  not  its  name. 

In  order  to  give  it  a  title,  I  call  it  Tao  (the  way). 

When  I  try  to  give  it  a  name,  I  call  it  Great. 

After  calling  it  Great,  I  call  it  Fugitive. 

After  calling  it  Fugitive,  I  call  it  Distant. 

After  calling  it  Distant,  I  say  it  comes  back  to  me. 

Need  I  say  that  Greek  and  Roman  writers  are  full 
of  the  most  exalted  sentiments  on  religion  and  mo- 
rality, in  spite  of  their  mythology  and  in  spite  of 
their  idolatry  ?  When  Plato  says  that  man  ought  to 
strive  after  likeness  with  God,  do  you  think  that  he 
thought  of  Jupiter,  or  Mars,  or  Mercury  ?  When 
another  poet  exclaimed  that  the  conscience  is  a  god 
for  all  men,  was  he  so  very  far  from  a  knowledge  of 
the  true  God  ? 

I  wish  we  could  explore  together  in  this  spirit  the 
ancient  religions  of  mankind,  for  I  feel  convinced  that 
the  more  we  know  of  them  the  more  we  shall  see  that 
1  Dr.  Legge's  Life  and  Teachings  of  Confucius,  p.  47. 


FOURTH   LECTURE.  115 

there  Is  not  one  whicli  is  entirely  flilse  ;  nay,  that  in 
one  sense  everv  religion  was  a  true  religion,  being  the 
only  religion  which   was  possible  at  tlie  time,   which 
was  compatible  with   the  language,  the  thoughts,  and 
the  sentiments  of  each  generation,  which  was  appro- 
priate to  the  age  of  the  world.      I  know  full  well  the 
objections  that  will  be  made  to  this.     Was  the  worship 
of  Moloch,  it  will   be   said,  a   true  religion  when  tliey 
burnt  their  sons  and  their  daughters  in  the  fire  to  their 
gods?     Was  the  worship  of  Mylitta,  or  is  the  worship 
of  Kali  a  true  religion,  when  within  the  sanctuary  of 
their  temple  they  committed   abominations  that  must 
be  nameless  ?     Was  the  teaching  of   Buddha  a  true 
religion,  when    men  were   asked   to    believe   that  the 
highest    reward  of  virtue  and  meditation   consisted  in 
a  complete  annihilation  of  the  soul  ?     Such  arguments 
may  tell  in  party  warfare,  though  even  there  they  have 
provoked  fearful  retaliation.   Can  that  be  a  true  religion, 
it  has  been  answered,  which  consigned  men  of  holy 
innocence  to  the  flames,  because  they  held   that   the 
Son  was  hke  unto  the  Father,  but  not  the  same  as  the 
Father,  or  because  they  would  not  worship  the  Virgin 
and  the  saints  ?     Can  that  be'  a  true  religion   which 
screened  the  same  nameless  crimes  behind  the  sacred 
walls   of  monasteries?     Can    that   be  a  true    religion 
which  taught  the  eternity  of  punishment  without  any 
hope  of  pardon  or   salvation   for  the  sinner,  however 
penitent  ?      People    who  judge    of   religions    in    that 
spirit   will  never   understand  their  real  purport,   will 
never  reach  their  sacred  springs.     These  are  the  ex- 
crescences,  the    inevitable    excrescences    of    religion. 
We  might  as  well  judge  of  the  health  of  a  people  from 
its  hospitals,  or  of  its  morality  from  its  prisons.     If  we 
want  to  judge  of  a  religion,  we  must  try  to  study  it 


116  THE   SCIENCE   OF  RELIGION. 

as  niucli  as  possible  in  the  mind  of  its  founder ;  and 
when  that  is  impossible,  as  it  is  but  too  often,  we  must 
try  to  find  it  in  the  lonely  chamber  and  the  sick-room, 
rather  than  in  the  colleges  of  augurs  and  the  councils 
of  priests. 

U  we  do  this,  and  if  we  bear  in  mind  that  religion 
must  accommodate  itself  to  the  intellectual  capacities 
of  those  whom  it  is  to  influence,  we  shall  be  surprised 
to  find  so  much  of  true  religion  where  we  only  ex- 
pected degrading  superstition  or  an  absurd  worship  of 
idols. 

The  intention  of  religion,  wherever  we  meet  it,  is 
always  holy.  However  imperfect,  however  childish  a 
religion  may  be,  it  always  places  the  human  soul  in 
the  presence  of  God  ;  and  however  imperfect  and 
however  childish  the  conception  of  God  may  be,  it 
always  represents  the  highest  ideal  of  perfection  which 
the  human  soul,  for  the  time  being,  can  reach  and 
grasp.  Religion  therefore  places  the  human  soul  in  the 
presence  of  its  highest  ideal,  it  lifts  it  above  the  level 
of  ordinary  goodness,  and  produces  at  least  a  yearn- 
ing after  a  higher  and  better  life  — a  life  in  the  light 
of  God.  The  expression  that  is  given  to  these  early 
manifestations  of  rellmous  sentiment  is  no  doubt  fre- 
quently  childish :  it  may  be  irreverent  or  even  repul- 
sive. But  has  not  every  father  to  learn  the  lesson  of 
a  charitable  Interpretation  in  watching  the  first  stam- 
merings of  religion  In  his  children  ?  Why,  then,  should 
people  find  it  so  difficult  to  learn  the  same  lesson  in  the 
ancient  history  of  the  world,  and  to  judge  in  the  same 
spirit  the  religious  utterances  of  the  childhood  of  the 
human  race  ?  Who  does  not  recollect  the  startling 
and  seemingly  irreverent  questionings  of  children 
about  God,  and  who  does  not  know  how  perfectly  guilt- 


FOURTH   LECTURE.  117 

less  the  child's  mind  is  of  real  irreverence?  Such 
outbursts  of  infantine  religion  hardly  bear  repeating. 
I  shall  only  mention  one  instance.  I  well  recollect  the 
dismay  which  was  created  by  a  child  exclaiming :  *'  O  ! 
I  wish  there  was  at  least  one  room  in  the  house  where 
I  could  })lay  alone,  and  where  God  could  not  see  me  I  " 
People  who  heard  it  were  shocked  ;  but  to  my  mind, 
I  confess,  this  childish  exclamation  sounded  more 
wonderful  than  even  the  Psahn  of  David,  *' Whither 
shall  1  go  from  thy  Spirit  ?  or  whither  shall  I  flee 
from  thy  presence  ?  " 

It  is  the  same  with  the  childish  language  of  ancient 
religion.  We  say  calmly  that  God  is  omniscient  and 
omnipresent.  Hesiod  speaks  of  the  sun  as  the  eye  of 
Zeus  that  sees  and  perceives  everything.  Aratus 
wrote,  "  Full  of  Zeus  are  all  the  streets,  all  the  mar- 
kets of  men  ;  full  of  him  is  the  sea  and  the  harbors 
....  and  we  are  also  his  offspring." 

A  Vedic  poet,  though  of  more  modern  date  than 
the  one  I  quoted  before,  speaking  of  the  same  Varuna 
whom  VasishfAa  invoked,  says :  **  The  great  lord  of 
these  worlds  sees  as  if  he  were  near.  If  a  man  thinks 
he  is  walking  by  stealth,  the  gods  know  it  all.  If  a 
man  stands  or  walks  or  rides,  if  he  goes  to  lie  down  or 
to  get  up,  what  two  people  sitting  together  whisper, 
King  Varuwa  knows  it,  he  is  there  as  a  third.  This 
eartli,  too,  belongs  to  Varuna,  the  king,  and  this  wide 
sky  with  its  ends  far  apart.  The  two  seas  (the  sky 
and  the  ocean)  are  Varuna's  loins  ;  he  is  also  con- 
tained in  this  small  drop  of  water.  He  who  should 
flee  far  beyond  the  sky,  even  he  would  not  be  rid  of 
Vaiiiwa,  the  king.  His  spies  proceed  from  heaven  to- 
wards this  world  ;  with  thousand  eyes  they  overlook 
this  earth.     King   Varuwa  sees  all  this,  what  is  be- 


118  THE  SCIENCE   OF  RELIGION. 

tween  heaven  and  earth,  and  what  is  beyond.  He  has 
counted  the  twinklings  of*  our  eyes.  As  a  player 
throws  down  the  dice,  he  settles  all  things."^ 

I  do  not  deny  that  there  is  in  this  hymn  much  that 
is  childish,  that  it  contains  expressions  unworthy  of  the 
majesty  of  the  Deity  ;  but  if  I  look  at  the  lanojuage  and 
the  thoughts  of  the  people  who  composed  these  hymns 
more  than  three  thousand  years  ago,  I  wonder  rather 
at  the  happy  and  pure  expression  which  they  have 
given  to  these  deep  thoughts  than  at  the  occasional 
harshnesses  which  jar  upon  our  ears. 

Ancient  language  is  a  difficult  instrument  to  handle, 
particularly  for  religious  purposes.  It  is  impossible  in 
human  language  to  express  abstract  ideas  excej)t  by 
metaphor,  and  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  whole 
dictionary  of  ancient  religion  is  made  up  of  metaphors. 
With  us  these  metaphors  are  all  forgotten.  We  speak 
of  s|)irit  without  thinking  of  breath,  of  heaven  without 
thinking  of  the  sky,  of  ])ardon  without  thinking  of  a 
release,  of  revelation  without  thinking  of  a  veil.  But 
in  ancient  language  evevy  one  of  these  words,  nay, 
every  word  that  does  not  refer  to  sensuous  objects,  is 
still  in  a  chrysalis  stage  :  half  material  and  half  spirit- 
ual, and  risino;  and  fallincr  in  its  character  according 
to  the  varying  capacities  of  speakers  and  hearers. 
Here  is  a  constant  source  of  misunderstandings,  many 
of  wliich  have  maintained  their  place  in  the  rehgion 
and  in  the  mythology  of  the  ancient  world.  There 
are  two  distinct  tendencies  to  be  observed  in  the 
growth  of  ancient  religion.  There  is,  on  the  one  side, 
the  struojo-le  of  the  mind  ao-ainst  the  material  character 
of  language,  a  constant  attempt  to  strip  words  of  their 
coarse  covering,  and  fit  them,  by  main  force,  for  the 
^  Chips  from  a  German  Workshop,  vol.  i.  p.  41  ;  Atharva-veda,  iv.  16. 


FOURTH  LECTURE.  119 

purposes  of  abstract  tliouglit.  But  there  is,  on  the 
other  side,  a  constant  relai)se  from  the  s])iritual  into 
tlie  material,  and,  strange  to  say,  a  predilection  for  the 
material  senpe  instead  of  the  spiritual.  This  action 
and  reaction  has  been  o()iiio;  on  in  the  language  of  re- 
ligion from  the  earliest  times,  and  it  is  at  woik  even 
now. 

It  seems  at  first  a  fatal  element  in  religion  that  it 
cannot  esca])e  from  this  flux  and  reflux  of  human 
thought,  which  is  repeated  at  least  once  in  every  gen- 
eration between  father  and  son,  between  motiier  and 
daughter  ;  but  if  we  watch  it  more  closely  we  shall 
find,  I  think,  that  this  flux  and  reflux  constitutes  the 
very  life  of  religion. 

Place  yourselves  in  tlie  position  of  those  who  first 
are  said  to  have  worshipped  the  sky.  We  say  that  they 
worshipped  the  sky,  or  that  the  sky  was  their  god  ; 
and  in  one  sense  that  is  true,  but  in  a  sense  verv  dif- 
ferent from  that  which  is  usually  attached  to  such 
statements.  If  we  use  '\ir<)d  "  in  the  sense  which  it 
has  now,  then  to  say  that  the  sky  was  their  god  is  to 
say  what  is  simply  impossible.  We  might  as  well  say 
that  with  them  Spirit  meant  nothing  but  air.  Such  a 
word  as  God,  in  our  sense  of  the  word  —  such  a  word 
even  as  deus  aud  6€.o<i  in  Latin  and  Greek,  or  deva  in 
Sanski'it,  which  could  be  used  as  a  general  predicate 
—  did  not  and  could  not  exist  at  that  early  time  in  the 
history  of  thought  and  speech.  If  we  want  to  under- 
stand ancient  religion,  we  must  first  try  to  understand 
ancient  language.  Let  us  remember,  then,  that  the 
first  materials  of  language  supply  expression  for  such 
impressions  only  as  are  received  through  the  senses. 

If,  therefore,  there  was  a  root  meaning  to  burn,  to 
be  bright,  to  warm,  such  a  root  might  supply  a  recog- 


120  THE   SCIENCE  OF  RELIGION. 

iilzed  name  for  the  sun  and  for  the  sky.  But  let  us 
now  imagine,  as  well  as  we  can,  the  process  which 
went  on  in  the  human  mind  before  the  name  of  sky 
could  be  torn  away  from  its  material  object  and  be 
used  as  the  name  of  something  totally  different  from 
the  sky.  There  was  in  the  heart  of  man,  from  the 
very  first,  a  feeling  of  incompleteness,  of  weakness,  of 
dependence,  whatever  we  like  to  call  it  in  our  abstract 
language.  We  can  explain  it  as  little  as  we  can  ex- 
plain why  the  new-born  child  feels  the  cravings  of 
hunger  and  thirst.  But  it  was  so  from  the  first,  and 
is  so  even  now.  Man  knows  not  whence  he  comes 
and  whither  he  goes.  He  looks  for  a  guide,  for  a 
friend;  he  wearies  for  some  one  on  whom  he  can  rest; 
he  wants  somethinor  like  a  father  in  heaven.  In  addi- 
tion  to  all  tlie  impressions  which  he  received  from  the 
outer  world,  there  was  in  the  heart  of  man  a  stronger 
impulse  from  within  —  a  sigh,  a  yearning,  a  call  for 
something  that  should  not  come  and  go  like  every- 
thing else,  that  should  be  before,  and  after,  and  for- 
ever, that  should  hold  and  support  everything,  that 
should  make  man  feel  at  home  in  this  strange  world. 
Before  this  vacruc  vearninor  could  assume  any  definite 
shape  it  wanted  a  name  ;  it  could  not  be  fully  grasped 
or  clearly  conceived  except  by  naming  it.  But  where 
to  look  for  a  name  ?  No  doubt  the  store-house  of  lan- 
guage was  there,  but  from  every  name  that  was  tried 
the  mind  of  man  shrank  back  because  it  did  not  fit, 
because  it  seemed  to  fetter  rather  than  to  wing  the 
thought  that  fluttered  within  and  called  for  light  and 
freed(>m.  But  when  at  last  a  name  or  even  many 
names  were  tried  and  chosen,  let  us  see  what  took 
place,  as  far  as  the  mind  of  man  was  concerned.  A 
certain  satisfaction,  no  doubt,  was  gained  by  having  a 


FOURTH   LECTURE.  121 

name  or  several  names,  however  imperfect ;  but  these 
names,  like  all  other  names,  were  but  signs  —  poor, 
imperfect  signs ;  they  were  predicates,  and  very  partial 
predicates,  of  various  small  portions  only  of  that  vague 
and  vast  somethino:  which  slumbered  in  the  mind. 
When  the  name  of  the  brilliant  sky  had  been  chosen, 
as  it  has  been  chosen  at  one  time  or  other  by  nearly 
every  nation  upon  earth,  was  sky  the  full  expression  of 
that  within  the  mind  which  wanted  expression?  Was 
the  mind  satisfied  ?  Had  the  sky  been  recognized  as 
its  god  ?  Far  from  it.  People  knew  perfectly  well 
what  they  meant  by  the  visible  sky;  the  first  man 
who,  after  looking  everywhere  for  what  he  wanted, 
and  who  at  last  in  sheer  exhaustion  grasped  at  the 
name  of  sky  as  better  than  nothing,  knew  but  too  well 
that  his  success  was  after  all  a  miserable  failure.  The 
brilliant  sky,  was,  no  doubt,  the  most  exalted  ;  it  w^as 
the  only  unchanging  and  infinite  being  that  had  re- 
ceived a  name,  and  that  could  lend  its  name  to  that 
as  yet  unborn  idea  of  the  Infinite  which  disquieted  the 
human  mind.  But  let  us  only  see  this  clearly,  that 
the  man  who  chose  that  name  did  not  mean,  could  not 
have  meant  that  the  visible  sky  was  all  he  wanted, 
that  the  blue  canopy  above  was  his  god. 

And  now  observe  what  happens  when  the  name  sky 
has  thus  been  given  and  accepted.  The  seeking  and 
finding  of  such  a  name,  however  imperfect,  was  the 
act  of  a  manly  mind,  of  a  poet,  of  a  prophet,  of  a 
patriarch,  who  could  struggle,  like  another  Jacob,  with 
the  idea  of  God  that  was  within  him,  till  he  had  found 
some  name  for  it.  But  when  that  name  had  to  be 
used  with  the  young  and  the  aged,  with  silly  cliildren 
and  doting  grandmothers,  it  was  impossible  to  preserve 
it  from  being  misunderstood.    The  first  step  downwards 


122  THE  SCIENCE   OF  RELIGION. 

would  be  to  look  upon  the  sky  as  the  abode  of  that 
being  which  was  called  by  the  same  name  ;  the  next 
step  would  be  to  forget  altogether  what  was  behind  the 
name,  and  to  implore  the  sky,  the  visible  canopy  over 
our  heads,  to  send  rain,  to  protect  the  fields,  the  cattle, 
and  the  corn,  to  give  to  man  his  daily  bread.  Nay, 
very  soon  those  who  warned  the  world  that  it  was  not 
the  visible  sky  that  was  meant,  but  that  what  was 
meant  was  something  high  above,  deep  below,  far  away 
from  the  blue  firmament,  would  be  looked  upon  either 
as  dreamers  whom  no  one  could  understand  or  as 
unbelievers  who  despised  the  sky,  tlie  great  benefactor 
of  the  world.  Lastly,  many  things  that  were  true  of 
the  visible  sky  would  be  told  of  its  divine  namesake, 
and  legends  would  spring  up,  destroying  every  trace 
of  the  deity  that  once  was  hidden  beneath  that  ambicr- 
uous  name. 

I  call  this  variety  of  acceptation,  this  misunder- 
standing, which  is  inevitable  in  ancient  and  also  modern 
religion,  the  dialectic  growth  and  decay,  or,  if  you  like, 
the  dialectic  life  of  religion,  and  we  shall  see  again  and 
again  how  important  it  is  in  enabling  us  to  form  a  right 
estimate  of  rehVious  lancruaiie  and  thouo^ht.  The 
dialectic  shades  in  the  lancruao;e  of  relicjion  are  almost 
infinite ;  they  ex])lain  the  decay,  but  they  also  account 
for  the  life  of  religion.  You  may  remember  that  Jacob 
Grimm,  in  one  of  his  poetical  moods,  explained  the 
origin  of  High  and  Low  German,  of  Sanskrit  and 
Prakrit,  of  Doric  and  Ionic,  by  looking  upon  the  high 
dialects  as  originally  the  language  of  women  and  chil- 
dren. We  can  observe,  I  believe,  the  same  parallel 
streams  in  the  language  of  religion.  There  is  a  high 
and  there  is  a  low  dialect ;  there  is  a  broad  and  there 
is  a  narrow  dialect ;  there  are  dialects  for  men  and  for 


FOURTH  LECTURE.  123 

children,  for  clergy  and  laity,  for  the  noisy  streets  and 
for  the  still  and  lonely  chamber.  And  as  the  child  on 
growing  up  to  manhood  has  to  unlearn  the  language 
of  the  nursery,  its  religion,  too,  has  to  be  translated 
from  a  feminine  into  a  more  masculine  dialect.  This 
does  not  take  place  without  a  struggle,  and  it  is  this 
constantly  recurring  struggle,  this  inextinguishable 
desire  to  recover  itself,  which  keeps  religion  from  utter 
stagnation.  From  first  to  last  religion  is  oscillating 
between  these  two  opposite  poles,  and  it  is  only  if 
the  attraction  of  one  of  the  two  poles  becomes  too 
strong,  that  the  healthy  movement  ceases,  and  stagna- 
tion and  decay  set  in.  If  religion  cannot  accommodate 
itself  on  the  one  side  to  the  capacity  of  children,  or  if 
on  the  other  side  it  fails  to  satisfy  the  requirements  of 
men,  it  has  lost  its  vitality,  and  it  becomes  either  mere 
superstition  or  mere  philosophy. 

If  I  have  succeeded  in  expressing  myself  clearly,  I 
think  you  will  understand  in  what  sense  it  may  be 
said  that  there  is  truth  in  all  religions,  even  in  the  low- 
est. The  intention  which  led  to  the  first  utterance  of 
a  name  like  sky,  used  no  longer  in  its  material  sense, 
but  in  a  higher  sense,  was  right.  The  spirit  was  will- 
ing, but  language  was  weak.  The  mental  process  was 
not,  as  commonly  supposed,  an  identification  of  the 
definite  idea  of  deity  with  sky:  such  a  process  is  hardly 
conceivable  ;  it  was,  on  the  contrary,  a  first  attempt 
at  defining  the  indefinite  impression  of  deity  by  a  name 
that  should  approximately  or  metaphorically  render  at 
least  one  of  its  most  prominent  features.  The  first 
framer  of  that  name  of  the  deity,  I  repeat  it  again, 
could  as  little  have  thought  of  the  material  heaven  as 
we  do  when  we  speak  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.^ 
1  Medhurst,  Inquiry,  p.  20. 


124  THE  SCIENCE   OF  RELIGION* 

And  now  let  us  observe  another  feature  of  ancient 
religion  that  has  often  been  so  startling,  but  which,  if 
we  only  remember  what  is  the  nature  of  ancient  lan- 
guage, becomes  likewise  perfectly  intelligible.  It  is 
well  known  that  ancient  languages  are  particuLarly 
rich  in  synonyms,  or,  to  speak  more  correctly,  that  in 
them  the  same  object  is  called  by  many  names  —  is, 
in  fact,  polyonomous.  While  in  modern  languages 
most  oi)jects  have  one  name  only,  we  find  in  ancient 
Sanskrit,  in  ancient  Greek  and  Arabic,  a  large  choice 
of  words  for  the  same  object.  Tins  is  perfectly  nat- 
ural. Each  name  could  express  one  side  only  of  the 
object  that  had  to  be  nanied,  and,  not  satisfied  with 
one  partial  name,  the  early  framers  of  language  pro- 
duced one  name  after  the  other,  and  after  a  time  re- 
tained those  which  seemed  most  useful  for  special 
purposes.  Thus,  the  sky  might  be  called  not  only  the 
brilliant,  but  the  dark,  the  covering,  the  thundering, 
the  rain -giving.  This  is  the  polyonomy  of  language, 
and  it  is  what  we  are  accustomed  to  call  polytheism  in 
religion.  Aristotle  said :  ••'  God,  though  He  is  one, 
has  many  names  (is  polyonomous)  because  He  is 
called  according  to  states  into  which  He  always  enters 
anew."  '  The  same  mental  yearning  which  f(mnd  its 
first  satisfaction  in  using  the  name  of  the  brilliant  sky 
as  an  indication  of  the  Divine,  would  soon  grasp  at 
other  names  of  the  sky  not  expressive  of  brilliancy, 
and  therefore  more  appropriate  to  a  religious  mood  in 
which  the  Divine  was  conceived  as  dark,  awful,  all- 
powerful.  Thus  we  find  in  Sanskrit,  by  the  side  of 
Dyaus,  another  name  of  the  covering  sky,  Varuwa, 
originally  only  another  attempt  at  naming  the  Divine, 
but  soon  assuming  a  separate  and  independent  exist- 
ence. 

1  Arist.  De  MnntJo,  cap.  vii.  init. 


FOURTH   LECTURE.  125 

But  this  is  not  all.  Tlie  very  imperfection  of  every 
name  tliat  had  been  cliosen,  their  very  inadequacy  to 
express  the  fullness  and  infinity  of  the  Divine,  would 
keep  up  the  searcii  for  new  names  till  at  last  every 
part  of  nature  in  wliich  an  approach  to  tlie  Divine 
couM  be  discovered  was  chosen  as  a  name  of  the  Om- 
nipresent. If  the  presence  of  the  Divine  was  per- 
ceived in  the  strong  wind,  the  strong  wind  became  its 
name  :  if  its  presence  was  perceived  in  the  earthquake 
and  the  fire,  tiie  earthquake  and  the  fire  became  its 
names.  Do  you  still  wonder  at  polytheism  or  at 
mythology?  Wliy,  they  are  inevitable.  They  are, 
if  you  like,  a  parler  enfaiitin  of  religion.  But  the 
world  had  its  childhood,  and  when  it  was  a  child  it 
spoke  as  a  child,  it  understood  as  a  child,  it  thought 
as  a  child  ;  and,  I  say  again,  in  that  it  spoke  as  a  child 
its  lano;uao;e  was  true,  in  that  it  believed  as  a  child  its 
religion  was  true.  The  fault  rests  with  us,  if  we  insist 
on  takincr  the  lancrua^e  of  children  for  the  lancruage 
of  men,  if  we  attempt  to  translate  literally  ancient  into 
modern  language,  oriental  into  occidental  speech,  po- 
etry into  prose. 

It  is  perfectly  true  that  at  present  few  interpreters, 
if  any,  would  take  such  expressions  as  the  head,  the 
face,  the  mouth,  the  lips,  the  breath  of  Jehovah  in  a 
literal  sense.  But  what  does  it  mean,  then,  if  we  hear 
one  of  our  most  honest  and  learned  theologians  declare 
that  he  can  no  longer  read  from  the  altar  the  words 
of  the  Bible,  "God  spake  these  words  and  said?" 
If  we  can  make  allowance  for  mouth  and  lips  and 
breath,  we  can  surely  make  the  same  allowance  for 
words  and  their  utterance.  The  language  of  antiquity 
is  the  language  of  childhood  :  aye,  and  we  ourselves, 
when  we  try  to  reach  the  Infinite  and  the  Divine  by 


126  THE   SCIENCE    OF   RELIGION. 

means  of  more  abstract  terms,  are  but  like  children 
trying  to  place  a  ladder  aojainst  the  sky. 

The  parler  enfantin  m  religion  is  not  extinct ;  it 
Tiever  will  be.  Not  only  have  some  of  the  ancient 
^liiUlish  relioions  been  kept  alive,  as,  for  instance,  the 
religion  of  India,  which  is  to  my  mind  like  a  lialf  fos- 
silized megatherion  walking  about  in  the  broad  day- 
light of  the  nineteenth  century  ;  but  in  our  own  relig- 
ion and  in  the  language  of  the  New  Testament  there 
are  manv  thino;s  which  disclose  their  true  meanino;  to 
those  onlv  who  know  what  lanojuage  is  made  of,  who 
have  not  only  ears  to  hear  but  a  heart  to  understand 
the  real  meaning  of  parables. 

What  I  maintain,  then,  is  this,  that  as  we  put  the 
most  charitable  interpretation  on  the  utterances  of 
children,  w^e  ought  to  put  the  same  charitable  inter- 
pretation on  the  apparent  absurdities,  the  follies,  the 
errors,  nay,  even  the  horrors  of  ancient  religion.  When 
we  read  of  Belus,  the  supreme  god  of  the  Babylonians, 
cuttino;  off  his  own  head,  that  the  blood  flowincr  from 
it  might  be  mixed  with  the  dust  out  of  which  men 
were  to  be  formed,  this  sounds  horrible  enough  ;  but 
depend  upon  it  what  was  originally  intended  by  this 
myth  was  no  more  than  this,  that  there  is  in  man  an 
element  of  Divine  life  :  that  we  are  also  his  offspring. 
The  same  idea  existed  in  the  ancient  re]io;ion  of  the 
Egyptians,  for  we  read,  in  the  17th  chapter  of  their 
"  Ritual,"  that  the  Sun  mutilated  himself,  and  that 
from  the  stream  of  his  blood  he  created  all  beino-s.^ 
And  the  author  of  Genesis,  too,  when  he  wishes  to  ex- 
press the  same  idea,  can  only  use  the  same  human  and 
symbolical    language  ;    he    can    only   say    that    "  God 

1  Vicomte  de  Rouge  in  Annates  de  Philosophie  Chretienne,  Nov.  1869, 
p.  332. 


FOURTH  LECTURE.  127 

formed  man  from  the  dust  of  the  ground,  and  breathed 
into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  Hfe." 

If  we  have  once  learnt  to  be  charitable  in  the  inter- 
pretation of  the  language  of  other  religions,  we  shall 
more  easily  learn  to  be  charitable  in  the  interpretation 
of  the  language  of  our  own  ;  we  shall  no  longer  try  to 
force  a  literal  interpretation  on  words  and  sentences 
in  our  sacred  books,  which,  if  interpreted  literally  must 
lose  their  original  purport  and  their  spiritual  truth. 
In  this  way,  I  believe  that  a  comparative  study  of  the 
relictions  of  the  world  will  teach  us  many  a  useful 
lesson  in  the  study  of  our  own  :  that  it  will  teach  us, 
at  all  events,  to  be  charitable  both  abroad  and  at  home. 


LECTUEE 

ON 

BUDDHIST  NIHILISM. 

v 
BY  F.   MAX.   MULLER,   M.   A. 

PROFESSOR    OF    COMPARATIVE    PHILOLOGY    IN    THE    UNIVERSITY 
OF    OXFORD  ;     MEMBER    OF    THE    FRENCH     INSTITUTE,    ETC. 

DELIVF.KED   BEFORE    THE   GENERAL   MEETING  OF   THE  AS- 
SOCIATION  OF   GERMAN   PHILOLOGISTS,   AT  KIEL, 
28th   SEPTEMBER,    1869. 

{Translated  from  the  German.) 


BUDDHIST  NIHILISM. 


T  MAY  be  mistaken,  but  my  belief  is  that  tlie  sub- 
-■-  ject  wliich  I  have  chosen  for  my  discourse  cannot 
be  reo;arded  as  alien  to  the  general  interests  of  this  as- 
sembly. 

Buddhism  in  its  numerous  varieties  continues  still 
the  religion  of  the  majority  of  mankind,  and  will  there- 
fore always  occupy  a  very  prominent  place  in  a  com- 
parative study  of  the  religions  of  the  world.  But  the 
science  of  comparative  theology,  although  the  young- 
est branch  on  the  tree  of  human  knowledge,  will,  for 
an  accurate  and  fruitful  study  of  antiquity,  soon  be- 
come as  indispensable  as  comparative  philology.  For 
how  can  we  truly  understand  and  properly  appreciate 
a  people,  its  literature,  art,  politics,  morals,  and  philoso- 
phy, its  entire  conception  of  life,  without  having  com- 
prehended its  religion,  not  only  in  its  outer  aspect,  but 
in  its  innermost  being,  in  its  deepest  far-reaching 
roots  ? 

What  our  great  poet  once  said  almost  prophetically 
of  languages,  may  also  be  said  of  religions,  —  "  He 
zvho  knoivs  only  one  knows  none^  As  the  true  knowl- 
edge of  a  lano;uage  requires  a  knowdedcre  of  lano-uaoces, 
thus  a  true  knowledge  of  religion  requires  a  knowledge 
of  religions.  And  however  bold  the  assertion  may 
souncl,  that  all  the  languages  of  mankind  have  an  Ori- 


132  BUDDHIST   NIHILISM. 

ental  origin,  true  it  is  that  all  religions,  like  the  suns, 
have  risen  fi'om  the  East. 

Here,  therefore,  in  treating  religions  scientifically 
(those  of  the  Aryan  as  well  as  tliose  of  the  Semitic 
races)  the  Oriental  scholar  lawfully  enters  into  the 
"  plenum  "  of  philology,  if  philoh^gy  still  is,  as  our 
President  told  us  yesterday,  wliat  it  once  intended  and 
wished  to  be,  namely,  the  true  Humanitas,  which,  like 
an  emperor  of  yore,  could  say  of  itself,  ''  humani  nihil 
a  me  alienum  puto." 

Now  it  has  been  the  peculiar  fate  of  the  religion  of 
Buddha,  that  among  all  the  so-called  fiilse  or  heathen- 
ish religions,  it  almost  alone  has  been  praised  by  all 
and  everybody  for  its  elevated,  pure,  and  humanizing 
character.  One  hardly  trusts  one's  eyes  on  seeing 
Catholic  and  Protestant  missionaries  vie  with  each 
other  in  their  praises  of  the  Buddha  ;  and  even  the 
attention  of  those  who  are  indifferent  to  all  that  con- 
cerns religion  must  be  arrested  for  a  moment,  when 
they  learn  from  statistical  accounts  that  no  religion,  not 
even  the  Christian,  has  exei'clsed  so  powerful  an  influ- 
ence on  the  diminution  of  crime  as  the  old  simple 
doctrine  of  the  Ascetic  of  Kapilavastu.  Indeed  no 
better  authority  can  be  brought  forward  in  this  respect 
than  that  of  a  still  living  Bishop  of  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic Church.  In  his  interestino;  w^ork  on  the  life  of 
Buddha,  the  author,  the  Bishop  of  Ramatha,  the  Apos- 
tolic Vicar  of  Ava  and  Pegu,  speaks  with  so  much  can- 
dor of  the  merits  of  the  Buddhist  relio;ion,  that  we  are 
often  at  a  loss  which  most  to  admire,  his  courao;e  or  his 
learning.  Thus  he  says  in  one  place  :  ^  *'  There  are 
many  moral  precepts  Equally  commanded  and  enforced 
in  common  by  both  creeds.  It  will  not  be  deemed  rash 
1  Page  494. 


BUDDHIST  NIHILISM.  133 

to  assert  that  most  of  the  moral  truths,  prescribed  by 
the  gospel,  are  to  be  met  with  in  the  Buddhistic  scrip- 
tures." In  another  place  Bishop  Bigandet  says  :  ^ 
"  In  reading  the  particulars  of  the  life  of  the  last 
Buddha  Gaudama,  it  is  impossible  not  to  feel  reminded 
of  many  circumstances  relating  to  our  Saviour's  life, 
such  as  it  has  been  sketched  out  by  the  Evangelists." 

I  might  produce  many  even  stronger  testimonies  in 
honor  of  Buddha  and  Buddhism,  but  the  above  suffice 
for  my  purpose. 

But  then,  on  the  other  hand,  it  appears  as  if  people 
had  only  permitted  themselves  to  be  so  liberal  in  their 
praise  of  Buddha  and  Buddhism,  because  they  could, 
in  the  end,  condemn  a  religion  which,  in  spite  of  all  its 
merits,  culminated  in  Atheism  and  Nihilism.  Thus  we 
are  told  by  Bishop  Bigandet  :  ^  "It  may  be  said  in  fa- 
vor of  Buddhism,  that  no  philosophico-religious  system 
has  ever  upheld,  to  an  equal  degree,  the  notions  of  a 
savior  and  deliverer,  and  the  necessity  of  his  mission, 
for  procuring  the  salvation  of  man,  in  a  Buddhist  sense. 
The  role  of  Buddha,  from  beginning  to  end,  is  that  of 
a  deliverer,  who  preaches  a  law  designed  to  secure  to 
man  the  deliverance  from  all  the  miseries  he  is  laboring 
under.  But  by  an  inexplicable  and  deplorable  eccen- 
tricity, the  pretended  savior,  after  having  tauglit  man 
the  way  to  deliver  himself  from  the  tyranny  of  his  pas- 
sions, leads  him,  after  all,  into  the  bottomless  gulf  of  a 
total  annihilation." 

This  language  may  have  a  slightly  episcopal  tinge, 
yet  we  find  the  same  judgment,  in  almost  identical 
words,  pronounced  by  the  most  eminent  scholars  who 
have  written  on  Buddhism.  The  Avarm  discussions  on 
this  subject,  which  have  recently  taken  place  at  the 
1  Page  495.  ^  Page  viii. 


134  BUDDHIST   NIHILISM. 

Acadernie  des  Inscriptions  et  Belles-Lettres  of  Paris, 
are  probably  known  to  many  of  those  who  are  here 
present ;  but  better  still,  the  work  of  the  man  whose 
place  has  not  yet  been  filled,  either  in  the  French 
Academy,  or  on  the  Coujicil  Board  of  German  Science 
—  the  work  of  Eugene  Burnouf,  the  true  founder  of 
a  scientitic  study  of  Buddhism.  Burnouf,  too,  in  his 
researciies  arrives  at  the  same  result,  namely,  that 
Buddhism,  as  known  to  us  from  its  canonical  books,  in 
spite  of  its  great  qualities,  ends  in  Atheism  and  Nihil- 
ism. 

Now,  as  to  Atheism,  it  cannot  be  denied  that,  if  we 
call  the  old  gods  of  the  Veda  —  Indra,  and  Agni,  and 
Yama  —  gods,  Buddha  was  an  Atheist.  He  does  not 
believe  in  the  divinity  of  these  deities.  What  is  note- 
worthy is  that  he  does  not  by  any  means  deny  their 
bare  existence,  just  as  little  as  St.  Augustine  and  other 
Fathers  of  the  Church  endeavored  to  sublimize,  or  en- 
tirely explain  away  the  existence  of  the  Olympian  de- 
ities. The  founder  of  Buddhism  treats  the  old  gods  as 
superhuman  beings,  and  promises  the  believers  that 
they  shall  after  death  be  reborn  into  the  world  of  the 
gods,  and  shall  enjoy  divine  bliss  with  the  gods.  Simi- 
larly he  threatens  the  wicked  that  after  death  they 
shall  meet  with  their  punishment  in  the  subterranean 
abodes  and  hells,  where  the  Asuras,  Sarpas,  Nagas,  and 
other  evil  spirits  dwell,  beings  whose  existence  was 
more  firmly  rooted  in  the  popular  belief  and  language, 
than  that  even  the  founder  of  a  new  rehVion  could 
have  dared  to  reason  them  away.  But,  althougli 
Buddha  assigned  to  these  mediatized  gods  and  devils, 
palaces,  gardens,  and  a  court, — not  second  to  their 
former  ones,  —  he  yet  deprived  them  of  all  their  sov- 
ereign  rights.     Although,   according   to  Buddha,  the 


BUDDHIST  NIHILISM.  135 

worlds  of  the  gods  last  for  millions  of  years,  they  must 
perish,  at  the  end  of  every  Kalpa,  with  the  gods  and 
with  the  spirits  who  in  the  circle  of  births  have  raised 
themselves  to  the  world  of  the  gods.  Indeed,  the  re- 
organization of  the  spirit-world  goes  further  still.  Al- 
ready, before  Buddha,  the  B  rah  mans  had  surmounted 
the  low  stand-point  of  mytliological  polytheism,  and 
supplanting  it  by  the  idea  of  the  Brahman,  as  the  ab- 
solute divine  or  super-divine  power.  What,  then,  does 
Buddha  decree  ?  To  this  Bralnnan  also  he  assigns  a 
place  in  his  universe.  Over  and  above  the  world  of 
the  gods  with  its  six  paradises,  he  heaps  up  sixteen 
Brahma-worlds,  not  to  be  attained  throuo-h  virtue  and 
piety  oidy,  but  through  inner  contemplation,  through 
knowledge  and  enlightenment.  The  dwellers  in  these 
worlds  are  already  purely  spiritualized  beings,  without 
body,  without  weight,  without  desire,  far  above  men 
and  gods.  Indeed,  the  Buddhist  architect  rises  to  a 
still  more  towering  height,  heaping  upon  the  Brahma- 
world  four  still  higher  worlds,  which  he  calls  the  world 
of  the  formless.  All  these  worlds  are  open  to  man, 
and  the  beings  ascend  and  descend  in  the  circle  of 
time,  according  to  the  works  they  have  performed,  ac- 
cording to  the  truths  they  have  recognized.  But  in  all 
these  worlds  the  law  of  change  obtains  ;  in  none  is 
there  exemption  from  birth,  age,  and  death.  The 
world  of  the  gods  will  perish  like  that  of  men,  even 
the  world  of  the  formless  will  not  last  forever  ;  but 
the  Buddha,  the  Enlightened  and  truly  Free,  stands 
higher,  and  will  not  be  affected  or  disturbed  by  the 
collapse  of  the  Universe  :  ''  Si  fractus  illabatur  orbis, 
impavidum  ferient  ruin^e." 

Now,  however,  we  meet  with  a  vein  of  irony,  which 
one  would  hardly  have  expected  in  Buddha.    Gods  and 


136  BUDDHIST  NIHILISM. 

devils  he  had  located  ;  to  all  mythological  and  philo- 
sophical acquisitions  of  the  past  he  had  done  justice  as 
far  as  possible.  Even  fabulous  beings,  such  as  N^gas, 
Gandharvas,  and  GarucZas,  had  escaped  the  process  of 
dissolution,  which  was  to  reach  them  later  only  at  the 
hands  of  comparative  mythology.  There  is  only  07ie 
idea,  the  idea  of  a  personal  creator,  in  regard  to  which 
Buddha  is  relentless. 

It  is  not  only  denied,  but  even  its  origin,  like  that  of 
an  ancient  myth,  is  carefully  explained  by  him  in  its 
minutest  details.  This  is  done  in  the  Brahma^ala- 
sutra.  Let  us  bear  in  mind  that  a  destruction  of  the 
worlds  occurs  at  the  end  of  every  kalpa,  a  destruction 
which  not  only  annihilates  earth  and  hell,  but  also  all 
the  worlds  of  the  gods,  and  even  the  three  lowest  of 
the  Brahma- worlds.  A  description  of  the  duration  of 
a  kalpa  can  only  be  given  in  the  language  of  Bud- 
dhism. Take  a  rock  forming  a  cube  of  about  fourteen 
miles,  touch  it  once  in  a  hundred  years  with  a  piece  of 
fine  cloth,  and  the  rock  will  sooner  be  reduced  to  dust 
than  a  kalpa  will  have  attained  its  end.  It  is  said  that 
at  the  end  of  tlie  kalpa,  after  all  the  lower  stories  of 
the  universe  had  been  destroyed  and  a  new  world  had 
again  been  slowly  formed,  the  spirits  dwelling  in  the 
higher  Brahma-worlds  had  remained  inviolate.  Then 
one  of  these  Spirits,  a  being  without  body,  without 
weight,  omnipresent  and  blessed  within  himself,  de- 
scended, when  his  time  had  arrived,  from  the  higher 
Brahma-world  to  the  new-formed  nether  Brahma-world. 
There  he  first  dwelt  alone  ;  but,  by  and  by,  the  desire 
arose  in  him  not  to  remain  alone  any  longer.  At  the 
moment  of  the  awakening  of  this  desire  within  him,  a 
second  being  accidentally  descended  from  the  higher 
into  the    lower  Bralima-world.     Then    and  there  the 


BUDDHIST    NIHILISM.  137 

thought  originated  in  the  first  being,  "  I  am  the  Brah- 
ma, the  great  Brahma,  the  Highest,  tlie  Unconquer- 
able, the  Omniscient,  the  Lord  and  King  of  All.  1  am 
the  Creator  of  all  things,  the  Father  of  All.  This 
being  has  also  been  created  bv  me  ;  for  as  soon  as  I  de- 
sired not  to  remain  alone,  my  desire  brought  forth  this 
second  being."  The  other  beings  as  they  gradually 
descended  from  the  higher  worlds  likewise  believed 
that  the  first  comer  had  been  their  Creator,  for  was  he 
not  older  and  mightier  and  handsomer  than  they  ? 

But  this  is  not  all  ;  for  although  it  would  explain 
how  one  spirit  could  consider  himself  the  creator  of 
other  spiiits,  it  would  leave  unexplained  the  circum- 
stances of  men  on  earth  believing  in  such  a  creator. 
This  is  explained  in  the  following  manner  :  ''  In  the 
course  of  time  one  of  these  higher  beings  sank  lower 
and  lower,  and  \vas  finally  born  as  a  man  on  earth. 
There,  by  penances  and  deep  mt^ditation,  he  attained  a 
state  of  inner  enlightenment,  which  gives  to  man  the 
faculty  of  remembering  his  former  existences.  He  re- 
membered the  above  narrated  occurrences  in  the  new- 
ly originated  Brahma-world,  and  announced  to  man- 
kind that  there  was  a  Creator,  a  Brahman,  who  had 
been  prior  to  a]l  other  beincrs  ;  that  this  Creator  was 
eternal  and  immutable,  while  all  beings  created  by 
him  were  mutable  and  mortal. 

There  is  in  this  explanation,  I  believe,  an  unmistak- 
able note  of  animosity,  otherwise  so  alien  to  the  char- 
acter of  Buddha,  and  the  question  naturally  arises 
whether  this  can  have  been  the  doctrine  of  the  founder 
of  Buddhism  himself.  And  herewith  we  at  once  ap- 
proach our  principal  problem :  ''  Is  it  possible  to  distin- 
guish between  Buddhism  and  the  personal  teaching  of 
Buddha  ?  "    We  possess  the  Buddhist  canon  and  have 


138  BUDDHIST  NIHILISM. 

a  right  to  consider  all  that  we  find  in  this  canon  as  or- 
thodox Buddhist  doctrine.  But  as  there  has  been  no 
lack  of  efforts  in  Christian  theolocry  to  distinguish  be- 
tween the  doctrine  of  the  founder  of  our  reli^jion  and 
that  of  tlie  writers  of  the  Gospels,  to  go  beyond  the 
canon  of  the  New  Testament,  and  to  make  the  Aoyta  of 
the  Master  the  only  valid  rule  of  our  faith,  so  the  same 
want  was  already  felt  at  a  very  early  period,  among 
the  followers  of  Buddha.  King  Asoka,  the  Indian  Con- 
stantine,  had  to  remind  the  assemble({  priests  at  the 
great  council  which  had  to  settle  the  Buddhist  canon, 
that  what  had  been  said  hy  Buddha  that  alone  was  well 
said}  Works  attributed  to  Buddha,  but  declared  as 
apocryphal,  or  even  as  heterodox,  already  existed  at 
that  time. 

Thus  we  are  not  by  any  means  without  an  authority 
for  distinguishing  between  Buddhism  and  the  teach- 
ing of  Buddha  ;  the  question  is  only  whether  such  a 
separation  is  still  practicable  for  us  ? 

My  belief  is  that  all  honest  inquirers  must  oppose 
a  No  to  this  question.  Burnonf  never  ventured  to 
cast  a  glance  beyond  the  boundaries  of  the  Buddhist 
canon.  What  he  finds  in  the  canonical  books,  in  the 
so-called  "  Three  Baskets,"  is  to  him  the  doctrine  of 
Buddha,  similarly  as  we  must  accept,  as  the  doctrine 
of  Christ,  what  is  contained  in  the  four  Gospels. 

Still  the  question  ought  to  be  asked  again,  and  again, 
whether,  at  least  with  regard  to  certain  doctrines  or 
facts,  it  may  not  be  possible  to  make  a  step  further  in 
advance,  even  with  the  conviction  that  it  cannot  lead 
us  to  results  of  apodictic  certainty.  For  if,  as  happens 
frequently,  we  find  in  the  different  parts  of  the  canon, 

1  See  Max  Mailer's  Chips  from  a  German  Workshop,  second  edition, 
vol,  i.  p.  xxiv. 


BUDDHIST  NIHILISM.  139 

views,  not  only  diflferino;  from,  but  even  contradictory 
to  each  otlier,  it  follows,  I  think,  that  one  only  of  them 
can  beloncr  to  Buddha  personally,  and  I  believe  that 
in  such  a  case  we  have  the  rio;ht  to  choose,  and  the 
liberty  to  accept  that  view  as  the  original  one,  the  one 
peculiar  to  Buddha,  which  hast  harmonizes  with  the 
later  system  of  orthodox  Buddhism. 

As  regards  the  denial  of  a  Creator,  or  Atheism  in 
the  ordinary  acceptation  of  tlie  term,  I  do  not  think 
that  any  one  passage  fi'om  the  books  of  the  canon 
known  to  us,  can  be  quoted  which  contradicts  it,  or 
which  in  anv  way  presupposes  the  belief  in  a  personal 
God  or  a  Creator.  All  that  may  be  urged  are  the 
words  said  to  have  been  spoken  by  Buddha  at  the 
moment  when  he  became  the  Enlightened,  the  Bud- 
dha. They  are  as  follows :  *'  Without  ceasing  shall 
I  run  through  a  course  of  many  births,  looking  for  the 
maker  of  this  tabernacle,  —  and  painful  is  birth  again 
and  again.  But  now,  maker  of  the  tabernacle,  thou 
hast  been  seen  ;  thou  shalt  not  make  up  this  tabernacle 
again.  All  thy  rafters  are  broken,  thy  ridge-pole  is 
sundered  ;  the  mind,  being  sundered,  has  attained  to 
the  extinction  of  all  desires." 

Here  in  the  maker  of  the  tabernacle,  i.  e.  the  body, 
one  might  be  tempted  to  see  a  creator.  But  he  who 
is  acquainted  with  the  general  run  of  thought  in  Bud- 
dhism, soon  finds  that  this  architect  of  the  house  is  only 
a  poetical  expression,  and  that  whatever  meaning  may 
underlie  it,  it  evidently  signifies  a  force  subordinated 
to  the  Buddhn,  the  Enlightened. 

But  whilst  we  have  no  oround  for  exoneratlno;  the 
Buddha  ))ersonally  from  the  accusation  of  Atheism,  the 
matter  stands  very  differently  as  regards  the  charge  of 
Nihilism.     Buddhist  Nihilism  has  always  been  much 


140  BUDDHIST    NIHILISM. 

more  incomprehensible  than  mere  Atheism.  A  kind 
of  religion  is  still  conceivable,  when  there  is  something 
firm  somewhere,  when  a  somethincr,  eternal  and  self- 
dependent,  is  recognized,  if  not  without  and  above  man, 
at  least  within  him.  But  if,  as  Buddhism  teaches,  the 
soul,  after  having  passed  through  all  the  phases  of  ex- 
istence, all  the  worlds  of  the  gods  and  of  tlie  higher 
spirits,  attains  finally  Nirva/za  as  its  highest  aim  and 
last  reward,  i.  e.  becomes  quite  extinct,  then  religion 
is  not  any  more  what  it  ought  to  be — a  bridge  from 
the  finite  to  the  infinite,  but  a  trap-bridge  hurhng  man 
into  tlie  abyss,  at  the  very  moment  when  he  thought 
he  had  arrived  at  the  stronghold  of  the  Eternal. 
According  to  the  metaphysical  doctrine  of  Buddhism, 
the  soul  cannot  dissolve  itself  in  a  higher  being,  or  be 
absorbed  in  the  absolute  substance,  as  was  taught  by 
the  Brahmans  and  other  mystics  of  ancient  and  modern 
times.  For  Buddhism  knew  not  the  Divine,  the 
Eternal,  the  Absolute,  and  the  soul,  even  as  the  T,  or 
as  the  mere  Self,  the  Atman,  as  called  by  the  Brah- 
mans, was  represented  in  the  orthodox  Metaphysics  of 
Buddhism  as  transient,  as  futile,  as  a  mere  phantom. 

No  person  who  reads  with  attention  the  metaphysical 
speculations  on  the  NirvaTza  contained  in  the  Buddhist 
Canon,  can  arrive  at  any  other  conviction  than  that 
expressed  by  Burnouf,  namely,  tliat  Nirva^ja,  the 
highest  aim,  the  summum  honum  of  Buddhism,  is  the 
absolute  nothing. 

Burnouf  adds,  however,  that  this  doctrine,  in  its 
crude  form,  appears  only  in  the  third  part  of  the 
canon,  the  so-called  Abhidharma,  but  not  in  the  first 
and  second  parts,  in  tlie  Sutras,  the  sermons,  and  the 
Vinaya,  the  ethics,  which  togetlier  bear  the  name  of 
Dharma  or  Law.      He  next  points  out  that,  according 


BUDDHIST   NIHILISM.  141 

to  some  ancient  authorities,  this  entire  part  of  the 
canon  was  designated  as  "  not  pronounced  by  Bud- 
dha." ^  These  are,  at  once,  two  important  limitations. 
I  add  a  tliird,  and  maintain  that  sa^-ings  of  the  Bud- 
dha occur  in  the  first  and  second  parts  of  the  canon, 
which  are  in  open  contradiction  to  this  metaphysical 
Nihihsm. 

Now  as  regards  the  soul,  or  the  self,  the  existence  of 
which,  according  to  the  orthodox  metaphysics,  is  purely 
phenomenal,  a  sentence  attributed  to  the  Buddha  says, 
''  Self  is  the  Lord  of  Self,  who  else  could  be  the  Lord  ?  " 
And  again,  "  A  man  who  controls  himself  enters  the 
untrodden  land  through  his  own  self-controlled  self." 
And  this  untrodden  land  is  the  Nirvana. 

Nirvana  certainly  means  extinction,  whatever  its 
later  arbitrary  interpretations  may  have  been,  and 
seems  therefore  to  imply,  even  etymologically,  a  real 
blowing  out  or  passing  away.  But  Nirvana  occurs  also 
in  the  Brahmanic  writings,  as  synonymous  with  Mok- 
sha,  Nirvritti,  and  other  words,  all  designating  the 
highest  stage  of  spiritual  liberty  and  bliss,  but  not  an- 
nihilation. Nirvana  may  mean  the  extinction  of  many 
things  —  of  selfishness,  desire,  and  sin,  without  going 
so  far  as  the  extinction  of  subjective  consciousness. 
Further,  if  we  consider  that  Buddha  himself,  after  he 
had  already  seen  Nirvana,  still  remains  on  earth  until 
his  body  falls  a  prey  to  death  ;  that  Buddha  appears, 
in  the  legends,  to  his  disciples  even  after  his  death,  it 
seems  to  me  that  all  these  circumstances  are  hardly  re- 
concilable with  the  orthodox  metaphysical  doctrine  of 
Nirvana, 

What  does  it  mean  when  Buddha  calls  reflection  the 
path  of  immortality,  and  thoughtlessness  the  path  of 
1  Max  Miiller's  Chips,  second  edition,  vol.  i.  p.  285,  note. 


142  BUDDHIST   NIHILISM. 

death  ?  Buddhaghoslia,  a  learned  man  of  the  fifth 
century,  here  explains  immortality  by  Nirvawa,  and 
that  this  was  also  Buddha's  thought  is  clearly  estab- 
lished by  a  passage  following  immediately  after : 
"  These  wise  people,  meditative,  steady,  always  pos- 
sessed of  strong  powers,  attain  to  Nirva/ia,  the  highest 
happiness."  Can  this  be  annihilation  ?  and  would  such 
expressions  have  been  used  by  the  founder  of  this  new 
religion,  if  what  he  called  immortality  had,  in  his  own 
idea,  been  annihilation  ? 

I  could  quote  many  more  such  passages  did  I  not 
fear  to  tire  you.  Nirvawa  occurs  even  in  the  purely 
moral  sense  of  quietness  and  absence  of  passion. 
"  When  a  man  can  bear  everythino:  without  utterinor 
a  sound,"  says  Buddha,  "  he  has  attained  Nirva?ia." 
Quiet  long-suffering  he  calls  the  highest  Nirvana;  he 
who  has  conquered  passion  and  hatred  is  said  to  enter 
into  Nirvana. 

In  other  passages.  Nirvana  is  described  as  the  result 
of  just  knowledge.  There  we  read :  *'  Hunger  or 
desire  is  the  worst  ailment,  the  body  the  greatest  of 
all  evils  ;  where  this  is  properly  known,  there  is  Nir- 
vana, the  greatest  happiness." 

When  it  is  said  in  one  passage  that  Rest  (/Santi)  is 
the  highest  bliss,  it  is  said  in  another  that  Nirvana  is 
the  highest  bliss. 

Buddha  says  :  "  The  sages  who  injure  nobody,  and 
who  always  control  their  body,  they  will  go  to  the  un- 
changeable place  (Nirvana),  where,  if  they  have  gone, 
they  will  suffer  no  more." 

Nirvana  is  called  the  quiet  place,  the  immortal  place, 
even  simply  that  which  is  immortal  ;  and  tlie  expres- 
sion occurs,  that  the  wise  dived  into  this  immortal. 
As,  according  to  Buddha,  everything  that  was  made, 


BUDDHIST   NIHILISM.  143 

everything  that  was  put  together,  passes  away  again, 
and  resolves  itself  into  its  component  pa?'ts,  he  calls  in 
contradistinction,  that  which  is  not  made,  i.  e.,  the 
uncreated  and  eternal,  Nirvawa.  He  says  :  "  When 
you  have  understood  the  destruction  of  all  that  was 
made,  you  will  understand  that  which  was  not  made." 
Whence  it  appears  that  even  for  him  a  certain  some- 
thing exists,  which  is  not  made,  which  is  eternal  and 
imperishable. 

On  considering  such  sayings,  to  which  many  more 
might  be  added,  one  recognizes  in  them  a  conception 
of  Nirvana,  altogether  irreconcilable  with  the  Niliilisra 
of  the  third  part  of  the  Buddhist  Canon.  The  ques- 
tion in  such  matters  is  not  a  more  or  less,  but  an  aut- 
aut.  If  these  sayings  have  maintained  themselves, 
in  spite  of  their  contradiction  to  orthodox  metaphysics, 
the  only  explanation,  in  my  opinion,  is,  that  they  were 
too  firmly  fixed  in  the  tradition  which  went  back  to 
Buddha  and  his  disciples.  What  Bishop  Bigandet  and 
others  represent  as  the  popular  view  of  the  Nirvana, 
in  contradistinction  to  that  of  the  Buddhist  divines, 
was,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  the  conception  of  Buddha 
and  his  disciples.  It  represented  the  entrance  of  the 
soul  into  rest,  a  subduing  of  all  wishes  and  desires, 
indifference  to  joy  and  pain,  to  good  and  evil,  an  ab- 
sorption of  the  soul  in  itself,  and  a  freedom  from  the 
circle  of  existences  from  birth  to  death,  and  from  death 
to  a  new  birth.  This  is  still  the  meaning  which  edu- 
cated people  attach  to  it,  whilst,  to  the  minds  of  the 
larcrer  masses,^  Nirvawa  suggests  rather  the  idea  of  a 
Moliammedan  paradise  or  of  blissful  Elysian  fields. 

1  Bigandet,  The  Life  or  Legend  of  Gaiidama,  the  Buddha  of  the  Bur- 
mese, with  Annotations.  The  ways  to  Neibban,  and  notice  on  the 
Phonp:yies,  or  Burmese  Monks.  8vo,  sewed,  pp.  xi.,  538,  and  v.  Lon- 
don, Triibner  &  Co. 


144  BUDDHIST  NIHILISM. 

Only  in  the  hands  of  the  philosophers,  to  whom 
Buddhism  owes  its  metaphysics,  the  Nirvana,  through 
constant  negations,  carried  to  an  indefinite  degree, 
throucrh  tlie  excludino;  and  abstractincr  of  all  that  is  not 
Nirvana,  at  last  became  an  empty  Notliing,  a  philo- 
sophical myth.  There  is  no  lack  of  such  philosophical 
myths  either  in  the  East  or  in  the  West.  Wiiat  has 
been  fabled  by  philosophers  of  a  Nothing,  and  of  the 
terrors  of  a  Notliing,  is  as  much  a  myth  as  the  myth 
of  Eos  and  Tithonus.  There  is  no  more  a  Nothinor 
than  there  is  an  Eos  or  a  Chaos.  All  these  are  sickly, 
dying,  or  dead  words,  which,  like  shadows  and  ghosts, 
continue  to  haunt  language,  and  succeed  in  deceiving 
for  a  while  even  the  healthiest  understandincr. 

Even  modern  philosophy  is  not  afraid  to  say  that 
there  is  a  Nothing.  We  find  passages  in  the  German 
mystics,  such  as  Eckhart  and  Tauler,  where  the  abyss 
of  the  Nothing  is  spoken  of  quite  in  a  Buddhist  style. 
If  Buddha  had  said,  like  St.  Paul,  "  that  what  no  eye 
hath  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  has  it  entered  into 
the  heart  of  man,"  was  prepared  in  the  Nirva/ia  for 
those  who  had  advanced  to  the  highest  degree  of  spir- 
itual perfection,  such  ex})ressions  would  have  been 
quite  sufficient  to  serve  as  a  proof  to  the  philosophers 
by  profession  that  this  NirvS,ria,  which  could  not  be- 
come an  object  of  perception  by  the  senses,  nor  of  con- 
ception by  the  categories  of  the  understanding,  could 
be  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the  Nothing.  Could 
we  dare  with  Hecjel  to  distino-uish  between  a  Nothinor 
(Nichts)  and  a  Not  (Nicht),  we  might  say  that  the 
Nirva^ia  had  through  a  false  dialectical  process  become 
from  a  relative  Nothing  an  absolute  Not.  This  was 
the  work  of  the  theologians  and  of  the  orthodox  phi- 
losophers.    But  a  religion   has  never  been  founded  by 


BUDDHIST  NIHILISM.  145 

sucli  teacliing,  and  a  man  like  Buddha,  who  knew 
mankind,  must  have  known  tliat  he  could  not  with 
such  weapons  overturn  the  tyranny  of  the  Brahmans. 
Either  we  must  brino;  ourselves  to  believe  that  Buddha 
tauo;ht  his  disciples  two  diametrically  opposed  doctrines 
on  Nirva^ia,  say  an  exoteric  and  esoteric  one,  or  we 
must  allow  that  view  of  Nirva/ia  to  have  been  the 
original  view  of  the  founder  of  this  marvelous  religion, 
which  corresponds  best  with  the  simple,  clear,  and 
practical  character  of  Buddha. 

I  have  now  said  all  that  can  be  said  in  vindication 
of  Buddha  within  the  brief  time  allowed  to  these  dis- 
courses. But  I  should  be  sorry  if  you  carried  away 
the  impression  that  Buddhism  contained  nothing  but 
empty,  useless  speculations  ;  permit  me,  therefore,  to 
read  to  you,  in  conclusion,  a  short  Buddhist  parable, 
which  will  show  you  Buddhism  in  a  more  human  form. 
It  is  borrowed  from  a  work  which  will  soon  appear, 
and  which  contains  the  translation  of  the  parables 
used  by  the  Buddhists  to  obtain  acceptance  for  their 
doctrines  amongst  the  people.  I  shall  only  omit  some 
technical  expressions  and  minor  details  which  are  of 
no  importance  :  ^  — 

"  Some  time  after  this,  Kisagotami  gave  birth  to  a  son.  When 
the  boy  was  able  to  walk  by  himself,  he  died.  The  young  girl, 
in  her  love  for  it,  carried  the  dead  child  clasped  to  her  bosom, 
and  went  about  from  house  to  house,  asking  if  any  one  would 
give  her  some  medicine  for  it.  AVhen  the  neighbors  saw  this, 
they  said,  '  Is  the  young  girl  mad  that  she  carries  about  on  her 
breast  the  dead  body  of  her  son  !  '  But  a  wise  man  thinking  to 
himself,  '  Alas  !  this  Kisagotami  does  not  understand  the  law  of 

1  Buddhaghosha's  Parables.  Translated  from  the  Burmese  by  Cap- 
tain H.  T.  Kogers,  R.  E.  With  an  Introduction  containing  "Bud- 
dha's Dhammapada,  or  the  Path  of  Virtue."  Translated  from  PaH  by 
Professor  F.  Max  Muller.    London,  Triibner  &  Co. 


146  BUDDHIST  NIHILISM. 

death,  I  must  comfort  her,*  said  to  her,  '  My  good  girl,  I  cannot 
myself  give  medicine  for  it,  but  I  know  of  a  doctor  who  can 
attend  to  it.'  The  young  girl  said,  'If  so,  tell  me  who  it  is/ 
The  wise  man  continued,  '  Buddha  can  give  medicine,  you  must 
go  to  him.' 

*'  Kisagotami  went  to  Buddha,  and  doing  homage  to  him,  said, 
'  Lord  and  master,  do  you  know  any  medicine  that  will  be  good 
for  my  boy  ?  '  Buddha  replied,  '  1  know  of  some.'  She  asked, 
'  What  medicine  do  you  require  V  '  He  said,  '  I  want  a  handful 
of  mustard  seed.'  The  girl  promised  to  procure  it  for  him,  but 
Buddha  continued, '  I  rerjuire  some  mustard  seed  taken  from  a 
house  where  no  son,  husband,  parent,  or  slave  has  died.'  The 
girl  said,  '  Very  good,'  and  went  to  ask  for  some  at  the  different 
houses,  carrying  the  dead  body  of  her  son  astride  on  her  hip. 
The  people  said,  '  Here  is  some  nmstard  seed,  take  it.'  Then 
she  asked, '  In  my  friend's  house  has  there  died  a  son,  a  hus- 
band, a  parent,  or  a  slave  ?  '  'J  hey  replied,  *  Lady,  what  is  this 
that  you  say  !  The  living  are  few,  hut  the  dead  are  many.^  Then 
she  went  to  other  houses,  but  one  said,  •  1  have  lost  a  son ; ' 
another,  '  I  have  lost  my  parents  ; '  another,  '  I  have  lost  my 
slave.'  At  last,  not  being  able  to  find  a  single  house  where  no 
one  had  died,  from  which  to  procure  the  mustard  seed,  she  be- 
gan to  think,  '  This  is  a  heavy  task  that  I  am  engaged  in.  I  am 
not  the  only  one  whose  son  is  dead.  In  the  whole  of  the  Savat- 
thi  country,  everywhere  children  are  dying,  parents  are  dying.* 
Thinking  thus,  she  was  seized  by  fear,  and  putting  away  her 
affection  for  her  child,  she  summoned  up  resolution,  and  left  the 
dead  body  in  a  forest ;  then  she  went  to  Buddha  and  paid  him 
homage.  He  said  to  her,  '  Have  you  procured  the  handful  of 
mustard  seed  V '  'I  have  not,'  she  replied  ;  '  the  people  of  the 
village  told  me,  "  The  lioing  are  few,  but  the  dead  are  many.'"  ' 
Buddha  said  to  her,  '  You  thought  that  you  alone  had  lost  a 
son  ;  the  law  of  death  is  that  among  all  living  creatures  there 
is  no  permanence.'  When  Buddha  had  finished  preaching  the 
law,  Kisagotami  was  established  in  the  reward  of  the  noviciate ; 
and  all  the  assembly  who  heard  the  law  were  established  in  the 
same  reward. 

"  Some  time  afterwards,  when  Kisagotami  was  one  day  en- 
gaged in  the  performance  of  her  religious  duties,  she  observed 
the  lights  (in  the  houses)  now  shining,  now  extinguished,  and 
began  to  reflect,  '  My  state  is  like  these  lamps.'     Buddha,  who 


BUDDHIST  NIHILISM.  147 

was  then  in  the  Gandhakud  building,  sent  his  sacred  appearance 
to  her,  which  said  to  her,  just  as  if  he  himself  was  preaching, 
*  All  living  beings  resemble  the  flame  of  these  lamps,  one  mo- 
ment lighted,  the  next  extinguished ;  those  only  who  have  ar- 
rived at  Nirvana  are  at  rest.'  Kisagotami,  on  hearing  this, 
reached  the  stage  of  a  saint  possessed  of  intuitive  knowledge." 

Gentlemen,  this  is  a  specimen  of  the  true  Buddhism ; 
this  is  the  language,  intelligible  to  the  poor  and  the 
suffering,  which  has  endeared  Buddhism  to  the  hearts 
of  millions, — not  the  silly,  metaphysical  phantasma- 
gorias of  worlds  of  gods  and  worlds  of  Brahma,  or  final 
dissolution  of  the  soul  in  Nirvana,  —  no,  the  beautiful, 
the  tender,  the  humanly  true,  which,  like  pure  gold, 
lies  buried  in  all  religions,  even  in  the  sand  of  the 
Buddhist  Canon. 


/ 


BUDDHA'S   DHAMMAPADA, 

OR 

''•PATH  or  VIRTUE." 

Translated  from  Pali 
By  F.   max  MULLER,   M.  A., 

PROFESSOR   OF   COMPARATIVE   PHILOLOGY   AT   OXFORD,   FOREIGN 
MEMBER   OF   THE   FRENCH    INSTITUTE,   ETC. 


BUDDHA'S   DHAMMAPADA, 

OR 

"PATH   OF   VIRTUE." 


[The  accompanying  essay  upon  the  age  of  Buddhaghosha's  Parables 
and  of  the  Dhammapada  by  Prof  Max  Miiller  originally  appeared  as 
a  preface  to  a  translation  from  the  Parables  themselves  by  Capt.  T. 
Rogers,  R.  E.  A  few  introductory  paragraphs  relating  particularly  to 
Capt.  Rogers  and  his  share  of  the  volume  are  omitted  from  this  pref- 
atory essay. — The  Publishers  ] 

rilHE    Dhammapada    forms  part  of  the  Buddhistic 

-L    Canon,  and  consists  of  four  hundred  and  twenty 

four  verses,^  which  are  beheved  to  contain    the  utter- 

1  That  there  should  be  some  ditferences  in  the  exact  number  of 
these  githAs,  or  verses,  is  but  natural.  In  a  short  index  at  the  end  of 
the  work,  the  number  of  chapters  is  given  as  twenty-six.  This  agrees 
with  our  text.  The  sum  total,  too,  of  the  verses  as  there  given,  namely 
423,  agrees  with  the  number  of  verses  which  Buddhaghosha  had  be- 
fore him,  when  writing  his  com.nentary,  at  the  beginnin,^  of  the  fifth 
century  of  our  era.  It  is  only  when  the  number  of  verses  in  each 
chapter  is  given  that  some  slight  ditforences  occur.  Cap.  v.  is  said  to 
contain  17  instead  of  16  verses;  cap.  xii.  12  instead  of  10;  cap  xiv. 
16  instead  of  18  ;  cap.  xx.  16  instead  of  17  ;  cap.  xxiv.  22  instead  of 
26;  cap.  xxvi.  40  instead  of  41,  which  would  give  altogether  five 
verses  less  than  we  actually  possess.  The  cause  of  this  difference  may 
be  either  in  the  wording  of  the  index  itself  (and  we  actually  find  it  in 
a  various  reading,  malavagge^•a  visati,  instead  of  malavagg' ekansati, 
see  Fausl)uli,  p.  43.t)  ;  or  in  the  occasional  counting  of  two  verses  as 
one,  or  of  one  as  two.  Thus  in  cap.  v.  we  get  16  instead  of  17  verseSk 
if  we  take  each  verse  to  consist  of  two  lines  only,  and  not,  as  in  vy. 
74  and  75,  of  three.  Under  all  circumstances  the  difference  is  trifling, 
and  we  may  be  satisfied  that  we  possess  in  our  MSS.  the  same  text 
which  Buddhaghosha  knew  in  the  fifth  century  of  our  era. 


152  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

ances  of  Buddha  himself.  It  is  in  explaining  these 
verses  that  Buddhaghoslia  gives  for  each  verse  a  para- 
ble, wliich  is  to  illustrate  the  meaning  of  the  verse,  and 
is  believed  to  have  been  uttered  by  Buddha,  in  his  in- 
tercourse with  his  disciples,  or  in  preaching  to  the 
multitudes  that  came  to  hear  him.  In  translatino; 
these  verses,  I  have  followed  the  edition  of  the  Pali 
text,  published  in  1856  by  Dr.  Fausboll,  and  I  have 
derived  great  advantage  from  his  Latin  translation,  his 
notes,  and  his  copious  extracts  from  Buddhaghosha's 
commentary.  I  have  also  consulted  translations, 
either  of  the  whole  of  the  Dhammapada,  or  of  por- 
tions of  it,  by  Weber,  Gogerly,^  Upham,  Burnouf, 
and  others.  Though  it  will  be  seen  that  in  many 
places  my  translation  differs  from  those  of  my  prede- 
cessors, I  can  only  claim  for  myself  the  name  of  a 
very  humble  gleaner  in  the  field  of  Pali  literature. 
The  greatest  credit  is  due  to  Dr.  Fausboll,  whose 
editio  princeps  of  the  Dhammapada  will  mark  forever 
an  important  epoch  in  the  history  of  Pah  scholarship ; 
and  though  later  critics  have  been  able  to  point  out 
some  mistakes,  both  in  his  text  and  in  his  translation, 
the  value  of  their  labors  is  not  to  be  compared  with 
that  of  the  work  accomplished  single-handed  by  that 
eminent  Danish  scholar. 

ON  THE  AGE  OF  THE  PARABLES  AND  OF  THE  DHAM- 
MAPADA. 

The  ao;e  of  BuddhaMiosha  can  be  fixed  with  p;reater 
accuracy  than  most  dates  in  the  literary  history  of 
India,  for  not  only  his  name,  but  the  circumstances 
of  his  life  and  his  literary  activity  are  described  in  the 

1  "  Several  of  the  chapters  have  been  translated  by  Mr.  Gogerly, 
and  have  appeared  in  The  Friend,  vol.  iv.  1840."  Spence  Hardy, 
Eastern  Alonachism,  p.  169. 


OR    "  PATH   OF   VIRTUE."  153 

Mahavawsa,  the  history  of  Ceylon,  by  what  may  be 
called  almost  a  contemporary  witness.  The  Malia- 
>an8a,  lit.  the  genealogy  of  the  great,^  or  the  great 
genealogy,  is  up  to  the  reign  of  Dhatusena,  the  work 
of  Mahanama.  It  was  founded  on  the  Dipavansa, 
also  called  Mahava?isa,  a  more  ancient  history  of  the 
island  of  Ceylon,  which  ended  with  the  reign  of  Ma- 
hasena,  who  died  302  a.  d.  MSS.  of  the  Dipava?^i6a 
are  said  to  exist,  and  there  is  a  hope  of  its  being  pub- 
lished. Mahanama,  who  lived  during  the  reign  of 
King  Dhatusena,  459-477,  wrote  the  whole  history  of 
the  island  over  again,  and  carried  it  on  to  his  own 
time.  He  also  wrote  a  commentary  on  this  work,  but 
that  commentary  extends  only  as  far  as  the  forty- 
eiglith  verse  of  the  thirty-seventh  chapter,  i.  e.,  as  far 
as  the  reign  of  Mahasena,  who  died  in  502  a.  d.^  As 
it  breaks  off  exactly  where  the  older  history,  the  Dipa- 
vansa, is  said  to  have  ended,  it  seems  most  likely  that 
Mahanama  embodied  in  it  the  results  of  his  own  re- 
searches into  the  ancient  history  of  Ceylon,  while  for 
his  continuation  of  the  work,  from  the  death  of  Ma- 
hasena to  his  own  time,  no  such  commentary  was 
wanted.  It  is  difficult  to  determine  whether  the 
thirty-eighth  as  well  as  the  thirty-seventh  chapter 
came  from  the  pen  of  Mahanama,  for  the  Mahavansa 
was  afterwards  continued  by  different  writers  to  the 
middle  of  the  last  century ;  but,  taking  into  account 
all  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  it  is  most  probable 

1  See  MahanAma's  own  explanations  given  in  the  Tika;  Maha- 
van^a,  Introduction,  p.  xxxi. 

2  After  the  forty-ei<rhth  verse,  the  text,  as  published  by  Turnour, 
puts  "Mahava?zso  ni«/ato,"  the  Mahavansa  is  finished  ;  and  after  a  new- 
invocation  of  Buddha,  the  history  is  continued  with  the  forty-ninth 
verse.  The  title  Mahavansa,  as  here  employed,  seems  to  refer  to  the 
Dipavansa. 


154  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

that  Mah an ama  carried  on  the  history  to  his  own  time, 
to  the  death  of  Dhatusena  or  Dasen  KelJiya,  who  died 
in  477.^  Tin's  Dhatusena  was  the  nephew  of  the  his- 
torian Malianania,  and  owed  the  throne  to  the  protec- 
tion of  his  uncle.  Dhatusena  was  in  fact  the  restorer 
of  a  national  dynasty,  and  after  having  defeated  the 
foreign  usurpers  (the  Damilo  dynasty)  "  he  restored 
tlie  religion  whicli  had  been  set  aside  by  the  foreign- 
ers." 2  Among  his  many  pious  acts,  it  is  particularly 
mentioned  that  he  gave  a  thousand,  and  ordered  the 
Dipavansa  to  be  promulgated.^ 

As  Mahanama  w^as  the  uncle  of  Dhatusena,  who 
reigned  from  459-477,  he  may  be  considered  a  trust- 
worthy witness  with  regard  to  facts  that  occurred 
between  410  and  432.  Now  the  literary  activity  of 
Buddhaghosha  in  Ceylon  falls  in  that  period,  and  this 
is  what  Mahanama  relates  of  him :  ^  — 

"  A  Brahman  youth,  born  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  ter- 
race of  the  great  Bo-tree  (in  Magadha),  accomplished  in  the 
'vijja'  (knowledge)  and  '  sippa '  (art),  who  had  achieved  the 
knowledge  of  the  three  Vedas,  and  possessed  great  aptitude  in 
attaining  acquirements;  indefatigable  as  a  schismatic  disputant, 
and  himself  a  schismatic  wanderer  over  Gambudipa,  established 
himself,  in  the  character  of  a  disputant,  in  a  certain  vihara,  and 
was  in  the  habit  of  rehearsing,  by  night  and  by  day  with  clasped 
hands,  a  discourse  which  he  had  learned,  perfect  in  all  its  com- 
ponent parts,  and  sustained  throughout  in  the  same  lofty  strain. 

1  Mahdvaxi^a,  Introduction,  p.  xxxi. 

'•^  II)M.  p.  256. 

3  Ibid.  p.  257,  "  And  that  he  might  also  promulgate  the  contents 
of  the  Dipavawsa,  distributing  a  thousand  pieces,  he  caused  it  to  be 
read  aloud  thoroughly."  The  text  has,  "datvA  sahassa?n  dipetuw 
Dipava«saHi  .'^amAdisi,"  having  given  a  thousand,  he  ordered  the  Dipa- 
vaw.sa  to  be  rendered  ilhistrious,  or  to  be  copied.  (See  Westerg^ard, 
Uehr  den  dlfesten  Zeitranm  der  Tndischen  Geschichte,  Breslau,  1862, 
p.  33  ;  and  Mahacan&a,  Introduction,  p.  xxxii.  1.  2.) 

*  Mahdvansa,  p.  250. 


OR  "PATH  OF  VIRTUE."  165 

A  certain  maha^hera,  Kevata,  becoming  acquainted  with  him 
there,  and  (saying  to  himself),  '  This  individual  is  a  person  of 
profound  knowledge ;  it  will  be  worthy  (of  me)  to  convert  him  ;* 
inquired,  'Who  is  this  who  is  braying  like  an  ass?'  The 
Brahman  replied  to  him,  '  Thou  canst  define,  then,  the  meaning 
conveyed  in  the  bray  of  asses.'  On  the  Thera  rejoining,  '  I 
can  define  it ;'  he  (the  BrShman)  exhibited  the  extent  of  the 
knowledge  he  possessed.  The  Thera  criticised  each  of  his  prop- 
ositions, and  pointed  out  in  what  respect  they  were  fallacious. 
He  who  had  been  thus  refuted,  said,  '  Well,  then,  descend  to 
thy  own  creed ;'  and  he  propounded  to  him  a  passage  from  the 
Abhidhamma  (of  the  Pitakattaya).  He  (the  Brahman)  could 
not  divine  the  signification  of  that  passage,  and  inquired, 
'  Whose  manta  is  this  ?'  —  *  It  is  Buddha's  manta.'  On  his 
exclaiming,  '  Impart  it  to  me ; '  the  Thera  replied,  '  Enter  the 
sacerdotal  order.'  He  who  was  desirous  of  acquiring  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  Pitakattaya,  subsequently  coming  to  this  con- 
viction, 'This  is  the  sole  road'  (to  salvation),  became  a  con- 
vert to  that  faith.  As  he  was  as  profound  in  his  eloquence 
(ghosa)  as  Buddha  himself,  they  conferred  on  him  the  appella- 
tion of  Buddhaghosa  (the  voice  of  Buddha)  ;  and  throughout 
the  world  he  became  as  renowned  as  Buddha.  Having  there 
(in  Cambudipa)  composed  an  original  work  called  '  Nanodaya  ' 
(Rise  of  Knowledge),  he,  at  the  same  time,  wrote  the  chapter 
called  '  Atthasalini,  on  the  Dhammasangani'  (one  of  the  Com- 
mentaries on  the  Abhidhamma). 

"  Revata  Thera  then  observing  that  he  was  desirous  of  under- 
taking the  compilation  of  a  general  commentary  on  the  Pita- 
kattaya, thus  addressed  him :  '  The  text  alone  of  the  Pitar 
kattaya  has  been  preserved  in  this  land,  the  Atthakatha  are 
not  extant  here,  nor  is  there  any  version  to  be  found  of  the 
schisms  (vada)  complete.  The  Singhalese  Atthakatha  are  gen- 
uine. They  were  composed  in  the  Singhalese  language  by  the 
inspired  and  profoundly  wise  Mahinda,  who  had  previously 
consulted  the  discourses  of  Buddha,  authenticated  at  the  thera- 
convoeations,  and  the  dissertations  and  arguments  of  Sariputta 
and  others,  and  they  are  extant  among  the  Singhalese.  Prepar- 
ing for  this,  and  studying  the  same,  translate  them  according  to 
the  rules  of  the  grammar  of  the  Magadhas.  It  will  be  an  act 
conducive  to  the  welfare  of  the  whole  world.' 

"  Havin-T  been  thus  advised,  this  eminently  wise  personage 


156  buddha's  dhammapada, 

rejoicing  therein,  departed  from  thence,  and  visited  this  island 
in  the  reign  of  this  monarch  (i.  e.  Mahanama).  On  reaching 
the  Mahavihara  (at  Anuradhapura),  he  entered  the  Mahapad- 
hana  hall,  the  most  splendid  of  the  apartments  in  the  vih^ra, 
and  listened  to  the  Singhalese  Atthakatha,  and  the  Theravada, 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end,  propounded  by  the  thera  Sangha- 
pala  i  and  became  thoroughly  convinced  that  they  conveyed 
the  true  meaning  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Lord  of  Dhamma. 
Thereupon  paying  reverential  respect  to  the  priesthood,  he 
thus  petitioned  :  '  I  am  desirous  of  translating  the  Atthakatha ; 
give  me  access  to  all  your  books.'  The  priesthood,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  testing  his  qualifications,  gave  only  two  gathas,  saying, 
*  Hence  prove  thy  qualification  ;  having  satisfied  ourselves  on 
this  point,  we  will  then  let  thee  have  all  our  books.'  From 
these  (taking  these  gatha  for  his  text),  and  consulting  the  Pita- 
kattaya,  together  with  the  Atthakatha,  and  condensing  them 
into  an  abridged  form,  he  composed  the  work  called  '  The 
Yisuddhimagga.'  Thereupon,  having  assembled  the  priesthood, 
who  had  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  doctrines  of 
Buddha,  at  the  bo-tree,  he  commenced  to  read  out  the  work  he 
had  composed.  The  devatas,  in  order  that  they  might  make  his 
(Buddhaghosa's)  gifts  of  wisdom  celebrated  among  men,  ren- 
dered that  book  invisible.  He,  however,  for  a  second  and  third 
time  recomposed  it.  Wlien  he  was  in  the  act  of  producing  his 
book  for  the  third  time,  for  the  purpose  of  propounding  it,  the 
devatas  restored  the  other  two  copies  also.  The  assembled 
priests  then  read  out  the  three  books  simultaneously.  In  those 
three  versions,  neither  in  a  signification  nor  in  a  single  misplace- 
ment by  transposition,  nay  even  in  the  thera-controversies,  and 
in  the  text  (of  the  Pitakattaya)  was  there,  in  the  measure  of  a 
verse  or  in  the  letter  of  a  word,  the  slightest  variation.  'J'here- 
upon,  the  priesthood  rejoicing,  again  and  again  fervently  shouted 
forth,  saying,  'Most  assuredly  this  is  Metteya  (Buddha)  himself,' 
and  made  over  to  him  the  books  in  which  the  Pitakattaya  were 
recorded,  together  with  the  Atthakatha.  Taking  up  his  res- 
idence in  the  secluded  Ganthakara  vihara,  at  Anuradhapura,  he 
translated,  according  to  the  grammatical  rules  of  the  Magadhas, 
which  is  the  root  of  all  languages,  the  whole  of  the  Singhalese 
Atthakatha  (into  Pali).  This  proved  an  achievement  of  the  ut- 
most consequence  to  all  languages  spoken  by  the  human  race. 
"  All  the  theras  and  achariyas  held  this  compilation  in  the 


OR   *'  PATH   OF   VIRTUE."  157 

same  estimation  as  the  text  (of  the  Pitakattaya).  Thereafter, 
the  objects  of  his  mission  having  been  fulfilled,  he  returned 
to  G^ambudipa,  to  worship  at  the  bo-tree  (at  Uruvelaya,  or  Uru- 
vilva,  in  Magadha)." 

Here  we  have  a  simple  account  of  Buddha^liosha  ^ 
and  Ills  literary  labors  written  by  a  man,  himself  a 
priest,  and  who  may  well  have  known  Buddhaghosha 
during  his  stay  in  Ceylon.  It  is  true  that  the  state- 
ment of  his  writing  the  same  book  three  times  over 
without  a  single  various  reading,  partakes  a  little  of 
the  miracuh)us  ;  but  w^e  find  similar  legends  mixed  up 
with  accounts  of  translations  of  other  sacred  books, 
and  we  cannot  contend  that  writers  who  believed  in 
such  legends  are  therefore  unworthy  to  be  believed  as 
historical  witnesses. 

The  next  question  which  has  to  be  answered  is  this, 
Did  Buddhaghosha's  Parables,  and  the  whole  of  the 
commentary  in  which  they  are  contained,  form  part 
of  the  Arthakatha  which  he  translated  from  Sino;ha- 
lese  into  Pali.  The  answer  to  this  question  depends 
on  whether  the  Dhammapada  formed  part  of  the  Pi- 

1  The  Burmese  entertain  the  hi<^hest  respect  for  Buddhaghosha. 
Bishop  Bigandet,  in  his  Life  or  Lcfjend  of  Gaudama  (Rangoon, 
1866),  writes  :  "  It  is  perhaps  as  well  to  mention  here  an  epoch 
which  has  beeh,  at  all  times,  famous  in  the  history  of  Buddhism  in 
Burma.  I  allude  to  the  voyage  which  a  Religious  of  Thaton, 
named  Budhagosa,  made  to  Ceylon,  in  the  year  of  religion  943=400 
A.  c.  The  object  of  this  voyage  was  to  procure  a  copy  of  the  scrip- 
tures. He  succeeded  in  his  undertaking.  He  made  use  of  the  Bur- 
mese, or  rather  Taking  characters,  in  transcribing  the  manuscripts, 
which  were  written  with  the  characters  of  Magatha.  The  Burmans 
lay  much  stress  upon  that  voyage,  and  always  carefully  note  down 
the  year  it  took  place.  In  fact,  it  is  to  Budhagosa  that  the  people 
living  on  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Martaban  owe  the  possession  of  the 
Budhist  scriptures.  From  Thaton,  the  collection  made  by  Budhagosa 
was  transferred  to  Pagan,  six  hundred  and  fifty  years  after  it  had 
been  imported  from  Ceylon." 


158  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

takattaya  or  not.  If  the  verses  of  the  Dhammapada 
were  contained  in  the  canon,  tlien  they  were  also 
explained  in  the  Singhalese  Arthakatha,  and  conse- 
quently translated  from  it  into  Pali  by  Buddhaghosha. 
Now  it  is  true  that  the  exact  place  of  the  Dhammapada 
in  the  Buddhistic  Canon  has  not  yet  been  pointed  out; 
but  if  we  refer  to  Appendix  iii.,  printed  in  Tumour's 
edition  of  the  Mahavawsa,  we  there  find  in  the  third 
part  of  tlie  canon,  the  Sutra-pitaka,  under  No.  5,  the 
Kshudraka-nikaya,  containing  fifteen  subdivisions,  the 
second  of  which  is  the  Dhammapada. 

We  should,  therefore,  be  perfectly  justified  in  treat- 
ing the  parables  contained  in  Buddhaghosha's  Pali 
translation  of  the  Arthakatha,  i.  e.  the  commentary 
on  the  Dhammapada,  as  part  of  a  much  more  ancient 
work,  namely,  the  work  of  Mahinda,  and  it  is  only  in 
deference  to  an  over-cautious  criticism  tliat  I  have 
claimed  no  earlier  date  than  that  of  Buddhaghosha  for 
these  curious  relics  of  the  fable-literature  of  India.  I 
have  myself  on  a  former  occasion  ^pointed  out  all  the 
objections  that  can  be  raised  against  the  authority  of 
Buddhaghosha  and  Mahinda  ;  but  I  do  not  think  that 
scholars  calling  these  parables  the  parables  of  Mahinda, 
if  not  of  Buddha  himself,  and  referring  their  date  to 
the  third  century  b.  o.,  woidd  expose  themselves  at 
present  to  any  formidable  criticism. 

If  we  read  the  pages  of  the  Mahavawsa  without 
prejudice,  and  make  allowance  for  the  exaggerations 
and  superstitions  of  Oriental  writers,  we  see  clearly 
that  the  literary  work  of  Buddhaghosha  presupposes 
the  existence,  in  some  shape  or  other,  not  only  of  the 
canonical  books,  but  also  of  their  Singhalese  commen- 
tary. The  Buddhistic  Canon  had  been  settled  in  sev- 
1  Chips  from  a  German  Workshop,  2d  ed.  vol.  i.  p.  197. 


OR   "  PATH   OF    VaRTUE."  159 

eral  councils,  whether  two  or  three,  we  need  not  here 
inquire.^  It  had  received  its  final  form  at  the  council 
held  under  Asoka  in  the  year  246  b.  c.  We  are  fur- 
ther told  in  the  Mahavansa  tliat  Mahinda,  the  son  of 
Asoka,  who  had  become  a  priest,  learnt  the  wliole  of 
the  Buddlilst  Canon  in  three  years  ; '-^  and  that  at  the 
end  of  the  third  council  he  was  dispatclied  to  Ceylon, 
in  order  to  establisli  there  tlie  relio;l()n  of  Buddha.^ 
The  king  of  Ceylon,  Devanampriya  Tishya,  was  con- 
verted, and  Buddhism  soon  became  the  dominant  relig- 
ion of  the  island.  Next  follows  a  statement  which  will 
naturallv  staoro-er  those  who  are  not  acquainted  with 
the  power  of  memory  if  under  strict  discipline  for  lit- 
erary purposes,  but  which  exceeds  by  no  means  the 
limits  of  what  is  possible  in  times  when  the  whole  sa- 
cred literature  of  a  people  is  preserved,  and  lives  by 
oral  tradition  only.  Tiie  I*itakatta3^a,  as  well  as  the 
ArthakathS,  having  been  collected  and  settled  at  the 
third  council  in  246  b.  c,  were  brought  to  Ceylon  by 
Mahinda,  who  promulgated  them  orally  ;  *  the  Pita- 
kattaya  in  Pali,  and  the  Arthakatha  in  Singhalese,^ 
together  with  additional  Arthakatha  of  his  own.      It 

1  The  question  of  these  councils  and  of  their  bearing  on  Indian 
chronology  has  been  discussed  by  me  in  my  History  of  Ancient  San- 
skrit Literature,  p.  262  seq.,  2d  ed. 

2  Mahavansa,  p.  37.         «  Ibid.  p.  71.         *  Cf  Bigandet,  1.  c  p.  387. 
5  Singhalese,  being  the  language  of  the  island,  would  naturally  be 

adopted  by  Mahinda  and  his  fellow-missionaries  for  communication 
with  the  natives.  If  he  abstained  from  translating  the  canon  also  into 
Singhalese,  this  may  have  been  on  account  of  its  more  sacred  charac- 
ter. At  a  later  time,  however,  the  canon,  too,  was  translated  into 
Singhalese,  and,  as  late  as  the  time  of  Buddhadasa,  who  died  368  a.  d., 
we  read  of  a  priest,  profoundly  versed  in  the  doctrines,  who  translated 
the  Sutras,  one  of  the  three  divisions  of  the  Pitakattaya,  into  the  Si- 
hala  language.  Mahdv.  p.  247.  A  note  is  added,  stating  that  sev- 
eral portions  of  the  other  two  divisions  also  of  the  Pitakattaya  have 
been  translated  into  the  Singhalese  language,  and  that  these  alone  are 


160  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

does  not  follow  that  Mahinda  knew  the  whole  of 
that  enormous  literature  by  heart,  for,  as  he  was  sup- 
ported by  a  number  of  priests,  they  may  well  have  di- 
vided the  different  sections  among  them.  The  same 
applies  to  their  disciples.  But  that  to  the  Hindu  mind 
there  was  nothing  exceptional  or  incredible  in  such  a 
statement,  we  see  clearly  from  what  is  said  by  Mah^- 
nama  at  a  later  period  of  his  history.  When  he  comes 
to  the  reign  of  Va^^agamani,*  88-76  B.  c,  he  states  : 
"The  profoundly  wise  priests  had  heretofore  orally 
peipetuated  the  Pali  Pitakattaya  and  its  Arthakath^ 
(commentaries).  At  this  period  these  priests,  foresee- 
ing the  perdition  of  the  peo})le  (from  the  perversions 
of  the  true  doctrines)  assembled  ;  and  in  order  that 
the  religion  might  endure  for  ages,  recorded  the  same 
in  books."  2 

Later  than  this  date,  even  those  who  doubt  the 
powers  of  oral  tradition  have  no  right  to  place  the  final 
constitution  of  the  Buddhistic  Canon  and  its  commen- 
taries in  Ceylon,  nor  is  there  any  reason  to  doubt  that 
such  as  these  texts  existed  in  Ceylon  in  the  first  cen- 
tury B.  c,  they  existed  in  the  fifth  century  after  Christ, 

consulted  by  the  priests  who  are  unacquainted  with  Pali.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is  stated  that  the  Singhalese  text  of  the  Arthakath^  ex- 
ists no  longer  (see  Spence  Hardy,  Legends,  p.  xxv.,  and  p.  69).  He 
states  that  the  text  and  commentary  of  the  Buddhist  Canon  are  be- 
lieved to  contain  29,368,000  letters.     Ibid.  p.  66. 

1  See  Bigandet,  1.  c.  p.  388. 

2  See  also  Spence  Hardy,  Legends,  p.  192.  "After  the  NirvAna  of 
Buddha,  for  the  space  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  years,  the  text  and 
commentaries,  and  all  the  works  of  the  Tathagata,  were  preserved  and 
transmitted  by  wise  pviests,  orally,  mukha-pa^ena.  But  having  seen 
the  evils  attendant  upon  this  mode  of  transmission,  five  hundred  and 
fifty  arhats,  of  great  authority,  in  the  cave  called  Aloka  (Alu)  in  the 
province  of  Malaya,  in  Lank4,  under  the  guardianship  of  the  chief  of 
that  })rovince,  caused  the  (sacred)  books  to  be  written."  —  Extract  from 
the  "' Sara-sangraha." 


OR 


"PATH   OF   VIRTUE."  161 


when  the  commentaries  were  translated  into  Pali  by 
Buddhauhosha,  and  tliat  afterwards  they  remained  un- 
chaiiiied  in  tlie  MSS.  preserved  by  the  learned  priests 
of  that  island.  It  is  easy  to  shrng  one's  shoulders,  and 
shake  one's  head,  and  to  disbelieve  everything  that  can 
be  disbelieved.  Of  course  we  cannot  bring  witnesses 
back  from  the  grave,  still  less  from  the  Nirva/ia,  into 
which,  we  trust,  many  of  these  ancient  worthies  have 
entered.  But  if  we  are  asked  to  believe  that  all  this 
was  invented  in  order  to  give  to  the  Buddhistic  Canon 
a  fictitious  air  of  antiquity,  the  achievement  would,  in- 
deed, be  one  of  consummate  skill.  When  Asoka  first 
met  NitT-rodha,  who  was  to  convert  him  to  the  new 
faith,  we  read,^  that  having  refreshed  the  saint  with 
food  and  beverage  which  had  been  prepared  for  him- 
self, he  interrocrated  the  samanera  on  the  doctrines 
propounded  by  Buddha.  It  is  then  said  that  the  sama- 
nera explained  to  him  the  Apramada-varga.  Now  this 
Apramada-varga  is  the  title  of  the  second  cliapter  of 
the  Dhammapada.  Its  mention  here  need  not  prove 
that  the  Dhammapada  existed  previous  to  the  Council 
of  Asoka,  246  b.  c,  but  only  that  Mahanama  believed 
that  it  existed  before  that  time.  But  if  we  are  to  sup- 
pose that  all  this  was  put  in  on  purpose,  would  it  not 
be  too  deep-laid  a  scheme  for  the  compiler  of  the  Ma- 
havansa  ?  ^ 

And  for  what  object  could  all  this  cunning  have 
been  employed  ?  The  Buddhists  would  have  believed 
the  most  miraculous  accounts  that  might  be  given  of 
the  origin  and  perpetuation  of  their  sacred  writings ; 
Avhy  then  tell  the  story  so  plainly,  so  baldly,  so  simply 

1  Mahdvan'^a,  p.  25. 

2  In  the  account  given  by  Bishop  Bigandet  (p.  377)  of  the  first  in- 
terview between  Asoka  and  Nigrodha,  the  lines  repeated  by  the  priest 
to  the  king  are  likewise  taken  from  the  Apramida-varga. 

11 


162  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

as  a  matter  of  fact  ?  I  have  the  greatest  respect  for 
really  critical  skepticism,  but  a  skepticism  without  any 
arguments  to  support  it  is  too  cheap  a  virtue  to  deserve 
much  consideration.  Till  we  hear  some  reasons  to  the 
contrary,  I  believe  we  may  safely  say  that  we  possess 
Buddhashosha's  translation  of  the  Artliakatha  as  it 
existed  in  the  fifth  century  of  our  era  ;  tliat  the  orig- 
inal was  first  reduced  to  writing  in  Ceylon  in  the  first 
century  before  our  era,  having  previously  existed  in 
the  language  of  Magadha;  and  that  our  verses  of  the 
Dharnmapada  are  the  same  which  were  recited  to 
Asoka,  and  embodied  in  the  canon  of  the  third  coun- 
cil, 246  B.  c.  This  is  enough  for  our  purposes :  the 
chronology  previous  to  Asoka,  or  at  least  previous  to 
his  grandfather,  ifandragupta,  the  ally  of  Seleucus,  be- 
longs to  a  different  class  of  researches. 

As,  however,  the  antiquity  and  authenticity  of  the 
Buddhist  literature  have  of  late  been  called  in  question 
in  a  most  summary  manner,  it  may  not  seem  superfluous 
to  show,  by  one  small  fact  at  least,  that  the  fables  and 
paral)les  of  Buddhaghosha  must  have  existed  in  the  very 
wording  in  which  we  possess  them^  in  the  beginning,  at 
least,  of  the  sixth  century  of  our  era.  It  was  at  that 
time  that  Kliosru  Anushirvan  (531-579)  ordered  a 
collection  of  fables  ^  to  be  translated  from  Sanskrit  into 
the  lanoruaore  of  Persia,  which  translation  became  in 
turn  the  source  of  the  Arabic  and  the  other  numerous 
translations  of  that  ancient  collection  of  apologues. 
These  Sanskrit  fables  as  collected  in  the  PafiA^atantra, 
have  been  proved  by  Prof.  Benfey  to  have  been  bor- 
rowed from  Buddhistic  sources  ;  and  I  believe  we  may 
go  even  a  step  further  and  maintain,  that  not  only  the 
general  outlines  of  these  fables,  but  in  some  cases  the 
very  words,  were  taken  over  from  Pali  into  Sanskrit. 
1  See  Benfey,  Pantschatantra,  voLi.  p.  6. 


163 

We  read  in  the  PanHtantra,  ii.  10,  the  following 
verse  :  — 

6'alam  adaya  gaAHanti  sahasa  1  pakshino  »py  ami, 
YavaX*  ^•a  vivadishyante  patishyanti  na  samssiyaJi. 

"  Even  these  birds  fly  away  quickly  taking  the  net ; 
and  when  they  shall  quarrel,  they  will  fall,  no  doubt." 

This  verse  recapitulates  the  story  of  the  birds  which 
are  caught  in  a  net,  but  escape  the  fowler  by  agreeing 
to  fly  up  together  at  the  same  moment.  The  same 
story  is  told  in  the  Hitopadesa,  i.  36  (32)  :  — 

Samhatas  tu  haranty  ete  mama  g^lam  viha?wgama^, 
Yada  tu  nipatishyanti  vasam  eshyanti  me  tada. 

"  Combined  indeed  do  these  birds  take  away  my 
net ;  but  when  they  fall  down,  they  will  then  fall  into 
my  power." 

The  first  thing  that  should  be  pointed  out  is,  that 
of  these  two  versions  of  the  same  idea,  neither  is  bor- 
rowed from  the  other,  neither  that  of  the  Hitopadesa 
from  the  PanArantra,  nor  vice  versd.^  They  presup- 
pose a  common  source  from  which  they  are  derived, 
thus  sharing  together  certain  terms  in  common,  and 
following  an  independent  course  in  other  respects. 
This  common  source  is  a  Pali  verse  which  occurs  ia 

1  If  we  read  "  samhataA  "  instead  of  "  sahasa,"  we  have  to  translate, 
"  Holding  together  even  these  birds  fly  away,  taking  the  net." 

^  A  third  version  is  found  in  the  Mahabharata,  Udoyaga-parva,  v. 
2461,  where  a  similar  story  is  told  of  two  birds  being  caught  and  es- 
caping from  the  fowler  by  agreeing  to  fly  up  together.  Here  we 
read :  — 

P^sam  ekara  ubhfiv  etam  sahitau  harato  mama, 
Yatra  vai  vivadishyete  tatra  me  vasam  eshyataA. 

"  These  two  united  carry  off  this  one  net  of  mine ;  when  they  shall 
quarrel,  then  they  will  fall  into  my  power." 


164  budddha's  dhammapada, 

the  Vattaka-^ataka,  and  is  quoted   by  Buddhaghosha 

in  his  commentary  on  the  Sutra-nipata.^ 

Sawmodamana  ga^"A:/mnti  </alam  adaya  pakkhino, 
Yada  te  vivadissanti  tada  ehinti  me  vasaw. 

"  The  birds  fly  away,  taking  the  net  while  they  are 
happy  together ;  when  they  sliall  quarrel,  then  they 
will  come  into  my  power." 

If  we  mark  these  three  verses  by  the  letters  P.,  H., 
and  v.,  we  see  that  P.  takes  from  V.  the  words  "^^- 
1am  adaya  ga^Hanti  pakshinaA"  and  "  vivadishyante," 
while  H.  takes  from  V.  the  words  ''  vasam  eshyanti 
me  tada."  For  the  rest,  H.  and  P.  follow  each  their 
own  way  in  transforming  the  Pali  verse,  as  best  they 
can,  into  a  Sanskrit  verse,  and  H.  with  more  success 
than  P.  The  words  "  apy  ami  "  in  P.  are  mere  exple- 
tives, "  patishyanti  "  is  a  poor  rendering,  and  "  na  sam- 
sajah  "  again  is  added  only  in  order  to  fill  the  verse. 
Without  calling  H.  and  P.  together  a  faithful  copy  of 
v.,  I  think  we  may  safely  say  that  it  would  be  impos- 
sible to  explain  both  the  points  on  which  H.  and  P. 
differ  and  those  on  which  they  agree,  without  admit- 
ting that  both  had  before  them  the  Pali  verse  in  the 
very  wording  in  which  we  find  it  in  Buddhaghosha's 
commentary,  and  which,  accordino;  to  Buddhao-hosha, 
was  taken  from  one  of  tlie  (ratakas,  a  portion  of  the 
Buddhistic  Canon.  And  this  would  prove,  though  one 
could  hardly  have  thought  tliat,  after  the  hibors  of 
Burnouf  and  Lassen  and  Julien,^  such  proof  was  still 

1  This  extract  from  the  commentary  was  published  by  Dr.  Fausboll 
in  the  Indiscke  Studien,  vol.  v.  p.  412,  and  the  similarity  was  pointed  out 
between  the  verse  of  Buddhaghosha  and  the  corresponding  verses  in 
the  Hitopadesa  and  PanZratantra.  Further  comparisons  may  be  seen 
in  Benfey,  Pahkatantra,  vol.  i.  p.  305  ;  vol.  ii.  pp.  450,  540.  See  also  Les 
Ai'oildnas  traduits  ]>ur  Stanislas  Julien,  vol.  i.  p.  155. 

2  On  Buddhist  books  carried  to  China  and  translated  there  previous 
to  the  beginning  of  our  era,  see  M.  M.'s  Chips  from  a  German  Work- 
shop, 2d  ed.  vol.  i.  p.  258,  seq. 


165 

needed,  that  the  Buddhist  Canon  and  its  commentary 
existed  in  tlie  very  wording  in  which  we  now  possess 
them,  previous  at  least  to  500  after  Christ. 

ON    THE   IMPORTANCE    OF    THE    DHAMMAPADA. 

If  we  may  consider  the  date  of  the  Dliammapada 
firmly  estabhshed,  and  treat  its  verses,  if  not  as  the 
utterances  of  Buddha,  at  least  as  what  were  beheved 
by  the  members  of  the  council  under  Asoka,  in  246 
B.  c,  to  have  been  the  utterances  of  the  founder  of 
their  religion,  its  importance  for  a  critical  study  of  the 
history  of  Buddhism  must  be  very  considerable,  for 
we  can  hardly  ever  expect  to  get  nearer  to  Buddha 
himself  and  to  his  personal  teaching.  I  shall  try  to 
illustrate  this  by  one  or  two  examples. 

I  pointed  out  on  a  former  occasion  ^  that  if  we  de- 
rive our  ideas  of  Nirvana  from  the  Abhidharma,  i.  e., 
the  metaphysical  portion  of  the  Buddhistic  Canon,  we 
cannot  escape  the  conclusion  that  that  it  meant  per- 
fect annihilation.  Nothin<i;  has  been  brouojht  forward 
to  invalidate  Burnouf's  statements  on  this  subject, 
much  has  since  been  added,  particularly  by  M.  Bar- 
th^lemy  St.  Hilaire,  to  strengthen  and  support  them, 
and  the  latest  writer  on  Buddhism,  Bishop  Bigandet, 
the  Vicar  Apostolic  of  Ava  and  Pegu,  in  his  "Life  and 
Legend  of  Gaudama,  the  Buddha  of  the  Burmese," 
arrives  at  exactly  the  same  conclusion.  No  one  could 
suspect  the  bishop  of  any  prejudice  against  Buddhism, 
for  he  is  most  candid  in  his  praises  of  whatever  is 
praiseworthy  in  that  ancient  system  of  religion.  Thus 
he  says 2  "The  Christian  system  and  the  Buddhistic 
one,  though  differing  from  each  other  in  their  respect- 

1  On  the  meaning  of  Nirvana,  in  Chips  from  a  German  Workshop, 
2d  ed.  vol.  i.  p.  280.  2  Page  494. 


166  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

ive  objects  and  ends  as  mucli  as  truth  from  error, 
have,  it  must  be  confessed,  many  striking  features  of 
an  astonishing  resemblance.  There  are  many  moral 
precepts  equally  commanded  and  enforced  in  common 
by  both  creeds.  It  will  not  be  considered  rash  to  as- 
sert that  most  of  the  moral  truths  prescribed  by  the 
gospel  are  to  be  met  with  in  the  Buddhistic  scrip- 
tures." And  again,^  '*  In  reading  the  particulars  of 
the  life  of  the  last  Budha  Gautama,  it  is  impossible 
not  to  feel  reminded  of  many  circumstances  relating  to 
our  Saviour's  life,  such  as  it  has  been  sketched  by  the 
Evangelists."  Yet,  in  spite  of  all  these  excellences, 
Bishop  Bigandet,  too,  sums  up  dead  against  Budhism, 
as  a  reliojion  culminatinoj  in  atheism  and  nihilism. 
"  It  may  be  said  in  favor  of  Buddhism,"  he  writes,^ 
"  that  no  philosophico- religious  system  has  ever  upheld, 
to  an  equal  degree,  the  notions  of  a  savior  and  deliv- 
erer, and  the  necessity  of  his  mission  for  procuring  the 
salvation,  in  a  Buddhistic  sense,  of  man.  The  role  of 
Buddha,  from  beginning  to  end,  is  that  of  a  deliverer, 
who  preaches  a  law  designed  to  procure  to  man  the 
deliverance  from  all  the  miseries  he  is  laboring  under. 
By  an  inexplicable  and  deplorable  eccentricity,  the 
pretended  savior,  after  having  taught  man  the  way 
to  deliver  himself  from  the  tyranny  of  his  passions, 
leads  him,  after  all,  into  the  bottomless  gulf  of  notal 
anniliilation.'  " 

That  Buddha  was  an  atheist,  at  least  in  one  sense 
of  the  word,  cannot  be  denied,  but  whether  he  believed 
in  a  total  annihilation  of  the  soul  as  the  hio-hest  goal 
of  religion,  is  a  different  question.  The  gods  whom 
he  found  worshipped  by  the  multitude,  were  the  gods 
of  the  Vedas  and  the  Brahma/ias,  such  as  Indra,  Agni, 
1  Page  495.  2  Pag©  viii. 


OR   "  PATH   OF  VIRTUE."  167 

and  Yama,  and  iii  the  divinity  of  such  deities,  Buddha 
certainly  did  not  believe.  He  never  argues  against 
their  existence  ;  on  the  contrary,  he  treats  the  old 
gods  as  superhuman  beings,  and  promises  his  followers 
who  liave  not  yet  reached  the  highest  knowledge,  but 
have  acquired  merit  by  a  virtuous  life,  that  after  death 
they  shall  be  born  again  in  the  world  of  the  gods,  and 
enjoy  divine  bliss  in  company  with  these  deities.  Sim- 
ilarly he  threatens  the  wicked  that  after  death  they 
shall  meet  with  their  punishment  in  the  subterranean 
abodes  and  hells,  where  Asuras,  Sarpas,  Pretas,  and 
other  spirits  dwell.  The  belief  in  these  beings  was  so 
firmly  rooted  in  the  popular  belief  and  language  that 
even  the  founder  of  a  new  religion  could  not  have 
dared  to  reason  them  away,  and  there  was  so  little  in 
the  doctrine  of  Buddha  that  appealed  to  the  senses  or 
lent  itself  to  artistic  representation,  whether  in  paint- 
ing or  sculpture,  that  nothing  remained  to  Buddhist 
artists  bat  to  fall  back  for  their  own  purposes  on  the 
old  mythology,  or  at  least  on  the  popular  superstition, 
the  fairy  and  snake  tales  of  the  people. ^ 

1  This  may  be  seen  from  the  curious  ornamentations  of  Buddhist 
temples,  some  of  which  were  lately  published  by  Mr.  Fergusson. 
Those  of  the  Sanchi  tope  are  taken  from  drawings  executed  for  the  late 
East  India  Company  by  Lieutenant  (now  Lieutenant-colonel)  Maisey, 
and  from  photographs  by  Lieutenant  Waterhouse ;  those  of  the  Am- 
ravati  tope  are  photographed  from  the  sculptured  slabs  sent  home  by 
Colonel  Mackenzie,  formerly  exhibited  in  the  Museum  of  the  East 
India  Company,  and  from  another  valuable  collection  sent  home  by 
Sir  Walter  Elliot.  Architectural  evidence  is  supposed  to  fix  the  date 
of  the  Sanchi  topes  from  about  250-100  b.  c.  ;  that  of 'the  gateways  in 
the  first  century  a.  d.  ;  while  the  date  of  the  Amravati  buildings  is 
referred  to  the  fourth  century  a.  d.  No  one  would  venture  to  doubt 
Mr.  Fergusson's  authority  within  the  sphere  of  architectural  chronol- 
ogy, but  we  want  something  more  than  mere  affirmation  when  he  says 
(p.  56),  "  that  the  earliest  of  the  (Buddhist)  scriptures  we  have  were 
not  reduced  to  writing  in  their  present  form  before  the  fifth  century 
after  Christ." 


168  BUDDHA'S   DHAMMAPADA, 

The  gods,  in  general,  are  frequently  mentioned  in 
the  Dhammapada  :  — 

V.  177.  The  uncharitable  do  not  go  to  the  world 
of  the  gods. 

V.  224.  Speak  the  truth,  do  not  yield  to  anger  ; 
give,  if  thou  art  asked,  from  the  little  thou  hast  ;  by 
those  steps  thou  wilt  go  near  tlie  gods. 

V.  417.  He  who,  after  leavino;  all  bondacre  to  men, 
has  risen  above  all  bondage  to  the  gods,  him  I  call 
indeed  a  Brahmana. 

In  vv.  44  and  45  three  worlds  are  mentioned,  the 
earth,  the  world  of  Yama  (the  lord  of  the  departed), 
and  the  world  of  the  gods  ;  and  in  v.  126  we  find  hell 
(niraya),  earth,  heaven  (svarga),  and  Nirvana. 

In  V.  ^Q  it  is  said  that  the  odor  of  excellent  people 
rises  up  to  the  gods ;  in  vv.  94  and  181,  that  the  gods 
envy  him  whose  senses  have  been  subdued  ;  in  v.  366, 
that  they  praise  a  Bhikslui  who  is  contented,  pure, 
and  not  slothful  (cf.  v.  280)  ;  in  v.  224,  that  good 
people  go  near  the  gods  ;  in  v.  236,  that  a  man  who 
is  free  from  guilt  will  enter  into  the  heavenly  world 
of  the  elect  (the  ariya)  ;  while  in  v.  187  we  read  of 
heavenly  pleasures  that  fail  to  satisfy  the  disciples  of 
Buddha. 

Individual  deities,  too,  are  mentioned.  Of  Indra, 
who  is  called  Maghavan,  it  is  said  in  v.  30,  that  by 
perseverance  he  rose  to  the  lordship  of  the  gods.^  In 
vv.  107  and  392  the  worship  of  Agni,  or  fire,  is  spoken 
of  as  established  among  the  Brahmans.  Yama,  as  the 
lord  of  the  departed,  occurs  in  vv.  44,  237,  and  he 
seems  to  be  the  same  as  MnMuraga,  the  king  of  death, 
mentioned  in  vv.  45,  170.     The  men  or  messengers 

1  There  is  a  curious  story  of  Buddha  dividing  his  honors  with  Sakka 
(-Sakra)  or  Indra  on  p.  162  of  the  Parables, 


OR    "  PATH  OF  VIRTUE."  169 

of  Yama  are  spoken  of  in  v.  235  ;  death  Itself  is  repre- 
sented as  Antaka,  vv.  48,  288,  or  as  MaMu  ;  in  v.  46 
the  king  of  death  (inaA;^ara^a)  is  mentioned  together 
with  Mara  ;  in  v.  48  he  seems  to  be  identified  with 
Mara,  the  tempter  (v.  48,  note). 

This  Mara,  the  teinpter,  the  great  antagonist  of 
Buddha,  as  well  as  of  his  followers,  is  a  very  impor- 
tant personage  in  the  Buddhist  scriptures.  He  is  in 
many  places  the  representative  of  evil,  the  evil  spirit, 
or,  in  Christian  terminology,  the  devil,  conquered  by 
Buddha,  but  not  destroyed  by  him.  In  the  Dliamma- 
pada  his  character  is  less  mythological  than  in  other 
Buddhist  writings.  His  retinue  is,  however,  mentioned 
(v.  175),  and  his  flower-pointed  arrow  (v.  46)  re- 
minds one  of  the  Hindu  god  of  love.  We  read  that 
Mara  will  overcome  the  careless,  but  not  the  faithful 
(vv.  7,  8,  57)  ;  that  men  try  to  escape  from  his  do- 
minion (v.  34),  and  his  snares  (vv.  37,  276,  350)  ; 
that  he  should  be  attacked  with  the  weapon  of  knowl- 
edge (v.  40)  ;  that  the  wise,  who  have  conquered  him, 
are  led  out  of  this  world  (v.  175).  In  vv.  104  and 
105  we  find  a  curious  climax,  if  it  is  intended  as  such, 
from  a  god  to  a  Gandharva,  thence  to  Mara,  and 
finally  to  Brahman,  all  of  whom  are  represented  as 
powerless  against  a  man  who  has  conquered  himself. 
In  V.  230,  too.  Brahman  is  mentioned,  and,  as  it 
would  seem,  as  a  being  superior  to  the  gods. 

But  although  these  gods  and  demons  were  recog- 
nized in  the  religion  of  Buddha,  and  had  palaces,  gar- 
dens, and  courts  assigned  to  them,  hardly  inferior  to 
those  which  they  possessed  under  the  old  regime^  they 
were  deprived  of  all  their  sovereign  rights.  Although, 
according  to  the  Buddhists,  the  worlds  of  the  gods 
last  for  millions  of  years,  they   must  perish  at  the  end 


170  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

of  every  kalpa  with  the  gods  and  with  tlie  spirits  who, 
in  the  circle  of  birtlis,  have  raised  themselves  to  the 
world  of  the  o;()ds.  Indeed,  tlie  reoro;anization  of  the 
spirit- world  in  the  hands  of  Buddlia  goes  furtlier  still. 
Already  before  Buddiia,  the  Brahnians  had  left  the 
low  stand-point  of  mytliolooical  |)olytheism,  and  had 
risen  to  the  conception  of  t!ie  Brahman,  as  the  abso- 
lute divine,  or  super-divine  being.  To  this  Brahman 
also,  who,  in  the  Dhammapada,  already  appears  as 
superior  to  the  gods,  a  place  is  assigned  in  the  Bud- 
dhist demonology.  Over  and  above  the  world  of  the 
gods  witli  its  six  paradises,  the  sixteen  Braluna-worlds 
are  erected  —  worlds,  not  to  be  attained  through  vir- 
tue, and  piety  only,  but  through  inner  contemplation, 
throuo;h  knowledo;e  and  enliiilitenment. 

The  dwellers  in  these  Brahma-worlds  are  more  than 
gods  ;  they  are  spiritual  beings,  without  body,  without 
weight,  without  desires.  Nay,  even  this  is  not  suffi- 
cient, and  as  the  Brahmans  had  imagined  a  higher 
Brahman,  without  form  and  without  suffering  (tatoyad 
uttarataram  tad  arupam  anamayam,  Svet.  Up.  3,  10), 
the  Buddhists,  too,  in  their  ideal  dreams,  imagined  four 
other  worlds  towerincr  InVh  above  the  worlds  of  Bi-ah- 
man,  which  they  call  Arupa,  the  worlds  of  the  Form- 
less. All  these  worlds  are  open  to  man,  after  he  has 
divested  himself  of  all  that  is  human,  and  numberless 
beings  are  constantly  ascendino;  and  descendinor  in  the 
circle  of  time,  according  to  the  works  they  have  per- 
formed, and  according  to  the  truths  they  have  dis- 
covered. But  in  all  these  worlds  the  law  of  change 
prevails,  in  none  is  there  exemption  from  birth,  age, 
and  death.  The  world  of  the  gods  will  perish  like 
that  of  men  ;  the  world  of  Brahman  will  vanish  like 
that  of  the  gods;  nay,  even  the  world  of  the  Form- 


OR  "PATH  OF   VIRTUE."  171 

less  will  not  last  forever  ;  but  the  Buddha,  the  en- 
lightened and  truly  free,  stands  lii^jher,  and  will  not 
be  affected  or  disturbed  by  tlie  collapse  of  the  uni- 
verse, Si  fractus  illabatur  orbis,  impavidum  ferient 
ruinae. 

Here,  however,  we  meet  with  a  vein  of  irony,  which 
one  would  hardly  have  expected  in  Buddha.  Gods 
and  devils  he  has  located,  to  all  mythological  and 
philosophical  acquisitions  of  the  ])ast  he  had  done  jus- 
tice as  far  as  possible.  Even  fabulous  beings,  such  as 
Nagas,  Gandharvas,  and  Garut?as,  had  escaped  the 
process  of  dissolution  and  sublimization  which  was  to 
reach  them  later  at  the  hands  of  comparative  mythol- 
ogists.  There  is  only  one  idea,  the  idea  of  a  personal 
Creator,  in  regard  to  which  Buddha  seems  merciless. 
It  is  not  only  denied,  but  even  its  origin,  like  that  of 
an  ancient  myth,  is  carefully  explained  by  him  with 
the  minutest  detail.  The  Rev.  D.  J.  Gogerly,  in  his 
numerous  articles  published  in  the  local  journals  of 
Ceylon,  has  collected  and  translated  the  most  impor- 
tant passages  from  the  Buddhist  Canon  bearing  on  this 
subject.  The  Rev.  Spence  Hardy,i  too,  another  dis- 
tinguished missionary  in  Ceylon,  has  several  times 
touched  on  this  point  —  a  point,  no  doubt,  of  great 
practical  importance  to  Cln'istian  missionaries.  They 
dwell  on  such  passages  as  when  Buddha  said  to  Up^- 
saka,  an  ascetic,  who  inquired  who  was  his  teacher 
and  whose  doctrine  he  embraced,  "  I  have  no  teacher  ; 
there  is  no  one  who  resembles  me.  In  the  world  of 
the  gods  I  have  no  equal.  I  am  the  most  noble  in  the 
world,  being  the  irrefutable  teacher,  the  sole,  all-per- 
fect Buddha."  In  the  Para^ika  section  of  the  Vinaya 
Pitaka,  a    conversation  is  recorded  between    Buddha 

1  Legends  and  Theories  of  the  Buddhists,  1866,  p.  171. 


172  BUDDHA'S   DHAMMAPADA, 

and  a  Brahman,  who  accused  him  of  not  honoring 
aged  Brahmans,  of  not  rising  in  their  presence,  and  of 
not  inviting  them  to  be  seated.  Buddha  repHed, 
"  Brahman,  I  do  not  see  any  one  in  the  lieavenly 
worlds  nor  in  tliat  of  Mara,  nor  among  the  inliabi- 
tants  of  the  Brahma-worlds,  nor  amono;  p-ods  or  men, 
whom  it  would  be  proper  for  me  to  honor,  or  in  whose 
presence  I  ought  to  rise  up,  or  whom  I  ouglit  to  re- 
quest to  be  seated.  Should  the  Tathagata  (Buddha) 
thus  act  towards  au}^  one,  that  person's  head  would 
fall  off." 

Such  doctrines,  as  Gogerly  points  out,  are  irrecon- 
cilable with  the  doctrine  of  a  universal  Creator,  who 
must  necessarily  be  superior  to  all  the  beings  formed 
and  supported  by  him.  But  the  most  decisive  passage 
on  the  subject  is  one  taken  from  the  Brahma-^ala- 
sutra,^  the  first  in  the  Dirgha  nikaya,  which  is  itself 
the  first  work  of  the  Sutra  Pitaka.  It  was  translated 
by  Gogerly,  whose  translation  I  follow,  as  the  text 
has  not  yet  been  published.  In  the  Brahma-^ala- 
sutra,  Buddha  discourses  respecting  the  sixty-two  dif- 
ferent sects  ;  among  whom  four  held  the  doctrine  both 
of  the  preexistence  of  the  soul,  and  of  its  eternal 
duration  through  countless  transmigrations.  Others 
believed  that  some  souls  have  always  existed,  whilst 
others  have  had  a  commencement  of  existence.  Amonor 
these  one  sect  is  described  as  believing  in  the  exist- 
ence of  a  Creator,  and  it  is  here  that  Buddlia  brinors 
together  his  aro;uments  ajrainst  the  correctness  of  this 
opinion.  "  There  is  a  time,"  he  says,  "  O  Bhikshus, 
when,  after  a  very  long  period,  this  world  is  destroyed. 
On  the  destruction  of  tlie  world  very  many  beings  ob- 

1  See  J.  D'Alwis's  Pali    Grammar,  p.    88,  note;    Tumour,  Mahd 
vansa,  Appendix  iii.  p.  Ixxv. 


OR   "PATH  OF  VIRTUE."  173 

tained  existence  in  the  Abhasvara^  Bralimaloka,  which 
is  the  sixth  in  the  series,  and  in  whicli  the  term  of  hfe 

1  The  Abhasvara  gods,  Sbhassarii  in  PAH,  are  mentioned  already  in 
the  Dhammapada,  v.  200,  but  none  of  the  minute  details,  describing 
the  six  Avovlds  of  the  gods,  and  the  sixteen  worlds  of  Brahman,  and 
the  four  of  Arupa,  are  to  be  found  there.  The  universe  is  repre- 
sented (v.  126)  as  consisting  of  hell  (niraya),  earth,  heaven  (svarga), 
and  Nirvana.  In  v.  44  we  find  the  world  of  Yama,  the  earth,  and  the 
world  of  the  gods;  in  v.  104  we  read  of  gods,  Gandharvas,  Mara, 
and  Brahman.  The  ordinary  expression,  too,  which  occurs  in  almost 
all  languages,  namely,  in  this  world  and  in  the  next,  is  not  avoided  by 
the  author  of  the  Dhammapada.  Thus  we  read  in  v.  168,  "  amim  loke 
paramhi  A;a,"  in  this  world  and  in  the  next  (cf.  vv.  242,  410) ;  we  find 
in  V.  20  "idha  va  Imram  va,"  here  or  there;  in  v.  15-18  we  find 
"idha"  and  "  peK-a,"  here  and  yonder;  peK-a,  i.  e.  pretya,  meaning 
literally, "  after  having  died  "  (cf.  vv.  131 ,  306).  We  also  find  "  idh'eva," 
here  (v.  402),  and  "  idha  lokasmin,"  here  in  the  world  (v.  247),  or  sim- 
ply "  loke,"  in  this  world  (v.  89) ;  and  "  parattha  "  for  "  paratra,"  yon- 
der, or  in  the  other  world. 

A  very  characteristic  expression,  too,  is  that  of  v.  176,  where,  as 
one  of  tiie  greatest  crimes,  is  mentioned  the  scoffing  at  another  world. 

The  following  is  a  sketch  of  the  universe  and  its  numerous  worlds, 
according  to  the  later  systems  of  the  Buddhists.  There  are  differ- 
ences, however,  in  different  schools. 

1.  The  infernal  regions  : 

(1)  Nyaya,  hell. 

(2)  The  abode  of  animals. 

(3)  The  abode  of  Pretas,  ghosts. 

(4)  The  abode  of  Asuras,  demons. 

2.  The  earth  : 

(\ )  Abode  of  men. 

3.  The  worlds  of  the  gods  : 

(1)  iratur-mah'a%a  (duration,  9,000,000  years). 

(2)  Trayastrimsa  (duration,  36,000,000  years). 

(3)  Yama  (duration,  144,000,000  years). 

(4)  Tushita  (duration,  576,000,000  years). 

(5)  Nirm-Ana  rati  (duration,  2,304,000,000  years). 

(6)  Paranirmita-vasavartin  (duration,  9,216,000,000  years). 

4.  The  worlds  of  Brahman : 

(a)  First  Dhy.Ana  : 

(1)  Brahma-parishadya  (duration,  ^  kalpa). 

(2)  Brahma-purohita  (duration,  ^  kalpa). 

(3)  Mahabrahman  (duration,  one  kalpa). 


174  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

never  exceeds  eight  kalpas.  They  are  there  spiritual 
beings  (having  purified  bodies,  uneontaminated  with 
evil  passions,  or  with  any  corporeal  defilement)  ;  they 
have  intelleclual  pleasures,  are  self-resplendent,  trav- 
erse the  atnios|)here  without  impediment,  and  remain 
for  a  long  time  established  in  happiness.  After  a  very 
long  ])eriod  this  mundane  system  is  reproduced,  and 
the  world  named  Brahma-vimana  (the  third  of  the 
Brahmalokas)  comes  into  existence,  but  uninhabited." 

"  At  that  time  a  bein'r,  in  consequence  either  of  the  period  of 
residence  in  Abhiisvara  being  expired,  or  in  consequence  of  some 
deficiency  of  merit  preventing  him   from  living  there  the  full 

(h)  Second  Dhyana  : 

(4)  I*5irittAbha  (duration,  two  kalpas). 

(5)  ApramAnabha  (duration,  four  kalpas). 

(6)  Abhlsvara  (duration,  eight  kalpas). 
(c)  Third  DhyAna: 

(7)  Parittasubha  (duration,  sixteen  kalpas). 

(8)  Aprammasubha  (duration,  thirty-two  kalpas). 

(9)  6'ubhakntsna  (duration,  sixty-four  kalpas). 
((/)  Fourth  Dhyana: 

(Anabhraka,  of  Northern  Buddhism.) 
(Punya-prasava,  of  Northern  Buddhism.) 

(10)  Vrihat-phala  (500  kalpas). 

(11)  Aranf,nsattvas  or  Asangisattvas,  of  Nepal ;  Asanyasatya,  of 

Ceylon  (500  kalpas). 
(e)  Fifth  DhyAna: 

(12)  Avriha  (1,000  kalpas). 

(13)  Atapa  (2,000  kalpas). 

(14)  Sudrisa  (4,000  kalpas). 

(15)  Sudarsana  (8,000  kalpas). 

(Sumukha,  of  Nepal.) 

(16)  Akanish^/?a  (16,01)0  kalpas). 
5.  The  world  of  Arupa : 

(1)  AkA.sinantyayatanam  (20,000  kalpas). 

(2)  Vi//nAnAnantyAyatanam  (40,000  kalpas). 

(3)  Akin^anyayatanam  (60,000  kalpas). 

(4)  Naivasan^nAnAsan^nAyatanara  (30,000  kalpas). 

Cf  Burnouf,  Tntrod>iction,  p.  599  seq.,-  Lotus,  p.  811  seq. ,'  Hardy, 
Manual,  p.  25  seq. ;  Bigandet,  p.  449. 


175 

period,  ceased  to  exist  in  Abhasvara,  and  was  reproduced  in  the 
uninhabited  Brahma-vimana.  He  was  there  a  spiritual  being ; 
his  pleasures  were  intellectual ;  he  was  self-resplendent,  traversed 
the  atmosphere,  and,  for  a  long  time,  enjoyed  uninterrupted  fe- 
licity. After  living  there  a  very  long  period  in  solitude,  a  desire 
of  having  an  associate  is  felt  by  him,  and  he  says,  '  Would  that 
another  being  were  dwelling  in  this  place.'  At  that  precise  junc- 
ture another  being  ceasing  to  exist  in  Abhasvara,  comes  into  ex- 
istence in  the  Brahma-vimana,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  first  one. 
They  are  both  of  them  spiritual  beings,  have  intellectual  pleas- 
ures, are  self-resplendent,  traverse  the  atmosphere,  and  are,  for  a 
long  time,  in  the  enjoyment  of  happiness.  Then  the  following 
thoughts  arose  in  him  who  was  the  first  existent  in  that  Brahma- 
loka :  *  I  am  Brahma,  the  Great  Brahma,  the  Supreme,  the  Invin- 
cible, the  Omniscient,  the  Governor  of  all  things,  the  Lord  of 
all.  I  am  the  Maker,  the  Creator  of  all  things ;  I  am  the  Chief, 
the  disposer  and  controller  of  all,  the  Universal  Father.  This 
being  was  made  by  me.  How  does  this  appear  ?  Formerly  I 
thought,  Would  that  another  being  were  in  this  place,  and  upon 
my  volition  this  being  came  here.'  Those  beings  also,  who  after- 
wards obtained  an  existence  there,  thought,  '  This  illustrious 
Brahma  is  the  Great  Brahma,  the  Supreme,  the  Invincible,  the 
Omniscient,  the  Ruler,  the  Lord,  the  Creator  of  all.  He  is  the 
Chief,  the  Disposer  of  all  things,  the  Controller  of  all,  the  Uni- 
versal Father.  We  were  created  by  him,  for  we  see  that  he  was 
first  here,  and  that  we  have  since  then  obtained  existence.  Fur- 
thermore, he  who  first  obtained  existence  there  lives  during  a 
very  long  period,  exceeds  in  beauty,  and  is  of  immense  power, 
but  those  who  followed  him  are  short-lived,  of  inferior  beauty, 
and  of  little  power.' 

"  It  then  happens,  that  one  of  those  beings  ceasing  to  exist 
there,  is  born  in  this  world,  and  afterwards  retires  from  society 
and  becomes  a  recluse.  He  subjects  his  passions,  is  persevering 
in  the  practice  of  virtue,  and  by  profound  meditation  he  recol- 
lects his  immediately  previous  state  of  existence,  but  none  prior 
to  that;  he  therefore  says,  '  That  illustrious  Brahma  is  the  Great 
Brahma,  the  Supreme,  the  Invincible,  the  Omniscient,  the  Ruler, 
the  Lord,  the  Maker,  the  Creator  of  all.  He  is  the  Chief,  the 
Disposer  of  all  things,  the  Controller  of  all,  the  Universal  Fa- 
ther. That  Brahma  by  whom  we  were  created  is  ever-enduring, 
immutable,  eternal,  unchangeable,  continuing  forever  the  same. 


176  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

But  we,  who  have  been  created  by  this  illustrious  Brahma,  are 
mutable,  short-lived,  and  mortal.'  " 

Tliere  is,  it  seems  to  me,  an  unmistakable  note  of 
irony  in  this  argumentation  against  the  belief  in  a  per- 
sonal Creator  ;  and  to  any  one  acquainted  with  the 
language  of  the  Upanishads,  the  pointed  allusions  to 
expressions. occurring  in  those  philosophical  and  relig- 
ious treatises  of  the  Brahmans  are  not  to  be  mistaken. 
If  then  it  is  true,  as  Gogerly  remarks,  that  many  who 
call  themselves  Buddhists  acknowledge  the  existence 
of  a  Creator,  the  question  naturally  arises,  whetlier  the 
point-blank  atheism  of  the  Brahma-^ala  was  the  doc- 
trine of  the  founder  of  Buddhism  or  not. 

This  is,  in  fact,  but  part  of  the  problem  so  often 
started,  whether  it  is  possible  to  distinguisli  between 
Buddhism  and  the  personal  teaching  of  Buddha.  We 
possess  the  Buddhist  Canon,  and  whatever  is  found  in 
that  canon  we  have  a  right  to  consider  as  the  ortho- 
dox Buddhist  doctrine.  But  as  there  has  been  no  lack 
of  efforts  in  Christian  theology  to  distinguish  between 
the  doctrine  of  the  founder  of  our  religion  and  that  of 
the  writers  of  the  Gospels,  to  go  beyond  the  canon  of 
the  New  Testament,  and  to  make  the  Xoyca  of  the  Mas- 
ter the  only  solid  rule  of  our  faith,  so  the  same  want 
was  felt  at  a  very  early  period  among  the  followers  of 
Buddha.  King  Asoka,  the  Indian  Constantine,  had 
to  remind  the  assembled  priests  at  the  great  council 
which  had  to  settle  the  Buddhist  Canon,  that,  "  what 
had  been  said  hy  Buddha^  that  alone  was  well  said."'  ^ 
Works  attributed  to  Buddha,  but  declared  to  be  apoc- 
ryphal, or  even  heterodox,  existed  already  at  that 
time  (246  b.  c).  Thus  we  are  by  no  means  without 
authority  for  distinguishing  between  Buddhism  and  the 

1  M.  M.'s  Chips  from  a  German  Workshop,  2d  ed.  vol.  i.  p.  xxiv. 


177 

teaching  of  Buddha  ;  the  only  question  is,  whether  in 
our  time  such  a  separation  is  still  practicable? 

My  belief  is  that,  in  general,  all  honest  inquirers 
must  oppose  a  No  to  this  question,  and  confess  that  it 
is  useless  to  try  to  cast  a  glance  beyond  the  bounda- 
ries of  the  Buddhist  Canon.  What  we  find  in  the 
canonical  books  in  the  so-called  "  Three  Baskets,"  is 
orthodox  Buddhism  and  the  doctrine  of  Buddha,  simi- 
larly as  we  must  accept  in  general  whatever  we  find 
in  the  four  Gospels  as  orthodox  Christianity  and  the 
doctrine  of  Christ. 

Still,  with  regard  to  certain  doctrines  and  facts,  the 
question,  I  think,  ought  to  be  asked  again  and  again 
whether  it  may  not  be  possible  to  advance  a  step  fur- 
ther even  with  the  conviction  that  we  cannot  arrive  at 
results  of  apodictic  certainty?  If  it  happens  that  on 
certain  points  we  find  in  different  parts  of  the  canon, 
not  only  doctrines  differing  from  each  other,  but  plainly 
contradictory  to  each  other,  it  follows,  surely,  that  one 
only  of  these  can  have  belonged  to  Buddha  person- 
ally. In  such  a  case,  therefore,  I  believe  we  have  a 
right  to  choose,  and  I  believe  we  shall  be  justified  in 
accepting  that  view  as  the  original  one,  the  one  pe- 
culiar to  Buddha  himself,  which  harmonizes  least  with 
the  later  system  of  orthodox  Buddhism. 

As  reo-ards  the  denial  of  a  Creator,  or  atheism  in 
the  ordinary  acceptation  of  the  word,  I  do  not  think 
that  any  one  passage  from  the  books  of  the  canon 
known  to  us  can  be  quoted  which  contravenes  it,  or 
which  in  any  way  presupposes  the  belief  in  a  personal 
God  or  Creator.  All  that  might  be  urged  are  the 
words  said  to  have  been  spoken  by  Buddha  at  the 
time  when  he  became  the  Enlightened,  the  Buddha. 
They  are  as  follows :    "  Without  ceasing  shall  I  run 

12 


178  Buddha's  dhammapada, 

through  a  course  of  many  birtlis,  looking  for  the  maker 
of  this  tabernacle,  —  and  painful  is  birth  again  and 
again.  But  now,  maker  of  the  tabei-nacle,  tliou  hast 
been  seen  ;  thou  shalt  not  make  up  this  tabernacle 
again.  All  thy  rafters  are  broken,  thy  ridge-pole  is 
sundered  ;  the  mind,  being  sundered,  has  attained  to 
the  extinction  of  all  desires." 

Here  in  the  maker  of  the  tabernacle,  i.  e.,  the  body, 
one  might  be  tempted  to  see  a  creator.  But  he  who 
is  acquainted  with  the  general  run  of  tliought  in  Bud- 
dhism, soon  finds  that  this  architect  of  the  house  is 
only  a  poetical  expression,  and  that  whatever  meaning 
may  underlie  it,  it  evidently  signifies  a  force  subor- 
dinate to  the  Buddha,  the  Enlightened. 

But  whilst  we  have  no  ground  for  exonerating  the 
Buddha  personally  from  the  accusation  of  atheism,  the 
matter  stands  very  differently  as  regards  the  charge  of 
nihilism.  The  Buddhist  nihilism  has  always  been 
mucii  more  incomprehensible  than  mere  atheism.  A 
kind  of  religion  is  still  conceivable,  when  there  is 
something  firm  somewhere,  when  a  somethino;,  eternal 
and  self-dependent,  is  recognized,  if  not  without  and 
above  man,  at  least  within  him.  But  if,  as  Buddhism 
teaches,  the  soul,  after  having  passed  througli  all  the 
phases  of  existence,  all  the  worlds  of  the  gods  and  of 
the  higher  spirits,  attains  finally  Nirvima  as  its  highest 
aim  and  last  reward,  i.  e.  becomes  utterly  extinct,  then 
religion  is  not  any  m(3re  what  it  is  meant  to  be,  — ^  a 
bridge  from  the  finite  to  the  infinite,  but  a  trap-bridge 
hurling  man  into  the  abyss  at  the  very  moment  when 
he  thouo-ht  he  had  arrived  at  the  stroncrhold  of  the 
Eternal.  According  to  the  metaphysical  doctrine  of 
Buddhism,  the  soul  cannot  dissolve  itself  in  a  hio;her 
being,  or  be  absorbed  in   the   absolute    substance,  as 


OR   "  PATH   OF   VIRTUE."  179 

was  tauglit  by  the  Bralimans,  and  other  mystics  of 
ancient  and  modern  times  ;  for  Buddhism  knew  not 
the  Divine,  tlie  Eternal,  the  Absolute  ;  and  the  soul 
even  as  the  I,  or  as  the  mere  Self,  the  Atman,  as 
called  by  the  Brahmans,  was  represented  in  the  ortho- 
dox metaphysics  of  Buddhism  as  transient,  as  futile,  as 
a  mere  ])hantom. 

No  person  who  reads  with  attention  the  metaphys- 
ical speculations  on  the  Nirvana  contained  in  the  third 
part  of  tlie  Buddhist  Canon,  can  arrive  at  any  other 
conviction  than  that  ex{)ressed  by  Burnouf,  namely, 
that  Nirvana,  the  InVhest  aim,  the  summum  honum  of 
Buddhism,  is  the  absolute  nothing. 

Burnouf  adds,  however,  that  this  doctrine  appears 
in  its  crude  form  in  the  third  part  only  of  the  canon, 
the  so-called  Abhidharma,  but  not  in  the  first  and 
second  parts,  in  the  Sutras,  the  sermons,  and  the  Vi- 
naya,  the  ethics,  wliich  together  bear  the  name  of 
Dharma,  or  Law.  He  next  points  out  that,  according 
to  some  ancient  authorities,  this  entire  part  of  the 
canon  was  designated  as  not  *'  pronounced  by  Bud- 
dha." ^  These  are,  at  once,  two  irhportant  limitations. 
I  add  a  third,  and  maintain  that  sayings  of  Buddha 
occur  in  the  Dhammapada,  which  are  in  open  contra- 
diction to  this  metaj)hysical  nihilism. 

Now,  first,  as  regai'ds  the  soul,  or  the  self,  the  exist- 
ence of  which,  according  to  the  orthodox  metaphysics, 
is  purely  phenomenal,''^  a  sentence  attributed  to  the 
Buddha^  says,   ''Self  is  the  Lord  of   Self,  who  else 

1  Max  Miiller's  Chips,  2d  ed.  vol.  i.  p.  285,  note. 

2  See  Wassiljew,  Der  Buddhismus,  p.  296,  (269);  and  Bigandet's 
Life  of  Gaudaina,  p.  479.  "  The  things  that  I  see  and  know,  are 
not  myself,  nor  from  myself,  nor  to  myself.  What  seems  to  be  my- 
self is  in  reality  neither  myself  nor  belongs  to  myself." 

8  Dhammapada,  v.  160. 


180 

could  be  the  Lord  ?  "  And  again, ^  *' A  man  who  con- 
trols himself  enters  the  unti'odden  land  thnnudi  his 
own  seh'-controlled  self."  But  this  untrodden  land  is 
the  Nirvana. 

Nirva/?a  certainly  means  extinction,  whatever  its 
later  arbitrary  interpretations  ^  may  have  been,  and 
seems  thei'efore  to  imj)ly,  even  etymol()o;ically,  a  real 
blowinor  out  or  passing  away.  But  Nirvana  occurs 
also  in  the  Brahmanic  writings  as  synonymous  with 
M()k"*ha,3  Nirvritti,^  and  otlier  M'ords,  all  designating 
the  liighest  stage  of  s))iritual  liberty  and  bliss,  but  not 
annihilation.  Nirvana  may  mean  the  extinction  of 
many  things,  —  of  selfishness,  desire,  and  sin,  without 
going  so  far  as  the  extinction  of  subjective  conscious- 
ness. Further,  if  we  consider  that  Buddha  himself, 
after  he  had  already  seen  Nirvana,  still  remains  on 
earth  until  his  body  falls  a  prey  to  death  ;  that  in  the 
legends  Buddha  appears  to  his  disciples  even  after  his 
death,  it  seems  to  me  that  all  these  circumstances  are 
hardly  reconcilable  with  the  orthodox  metaphysical 
doctrine  of  Nirvana. 

But  I  go  even  further  and  maintain  that,  if  we  look 
in  the  Dhammapada  at  every  passage  where  Nirvana  is 
mentioned,  there  is  not  one  which  would  require  that  its 

1  Dhammapada,  v.  323. 

2  See  Bastian,  Dip  Volkpr  des  ostlichen  Asien,  vol.  iii.  p.  354.  The 
learned  abl)Ot  who  explained  the  meaning  of  NirvAna  to  Dr.  Bastian 
was  well  versed  in  the  old  grammatical  terminology.  He  distin- 
guishes the  causal  meaning,  called  hetnmat,  of  the  verb  "vA,"  to  cause 
to  blow  out,  from  the  intransitive  meaning,  to  go  out.  He  also  dis- 
tinguishes between  the  verb  as  expressing  the  state  of  vanishing, 
"  bh'ivas'idhana"  (cf  Pan.  ii.  3,  37  ;  iii.  4,  69),  or  the  place  of  vanish- 
ing, "  adhikaranas.ldhana  "  {Pan,  i.  4,45).  How  place  and  act  be- 
come one  in  the  conception  of  Buddhists,  is  better  seen  by  the  four 
dhyAnas,  originally  meditations,  than  the  places  reached  by  these 
meditations. 

^  See  Dhammapaday  v.  89,  92. 


OR   "PATH   OF   VIRTUE."  181 

meaning  sliould  be  annihilation,  while  most,  if  not  all, 
would  become  perfectly  unintelligible  if  we  assigned 
to  the  word  Nirva/ia  the  meaninj;  vviiich  it  has  in  the 
Abhidhanna  or  the  metaphysical  portions  of  the  canon. 

What  does  it  mean,  when  Buddha  (v.  21),  calls  re- 
flection the  path  to  initnortality,  thoughtlessness  the 
path  of  death  ?  Buddhaghosha  does  not  hesitate  to 
explain  imuiortality  by  Nirva/ia,  and  that  the  same 
idea  was  connected  with  it  in  the  mind  of  Buddha  is 
clearly  pi'oved  by  a  passage  immediately  following 
(v.  23)  :  ''Tile  wise  people,  meditative,  steady,  always 
possessed  of  strong  powers,  attain  to  Nirvana,  the 
highest  happiness."  In  the  last  verse,  too,  of  the  same 
chapter  we  read,  "  A  Bhikshu  who  delights  in  reflec- 
tion, who  looks  with  fear  on  thoughtlessness,  will  not  go 
to  destruction,  —  he  is  near  to  Nirva?ia."  If  the  goal 
at  which  the  followers  of  Budilha  have  to  aim  had 
been  in  the  mind  of  Buddha  j)erfect  annihilation, 
"  amata,"  i.  e.  immortality,  would  have  been  the  very 
last  word   he  could   have  chosen  as  its  name. 

In  several  passages  of  the  Dhammapada,  Nirvana 
occurs  in  the  purely  ethical  sense  of  rest,  quietness, 
absence  of  passion  ;  e.  g.  (v.  134),  ''  If,  like  a  trumpet 
trauipled  iiuder  foot,  thou  utter  not,  then  thou  hast 
reached  Niiwami ;  anger  is  not  known  in  thee."  In 
V.  184  long-sufiering  (tiriksha)  is  called  the  highest 
Nirvami.  While  in  v.  202  we  read  that  there  is  no 
happiness  like  rest  (santi)  or  quietness,  we  read  in 
the  next  verse  that  the  highest  happiness  is  Nirva/ia. 
In  V.  285,  too,  "  santi  "  seems  to  be  synonymous  with 
Nirvana,  for  the  way  that  leads  to  "  santi,"  or  peace, 
leads  also  to  Nirvana,  as  shown  by  Buddha.  In  v.  369 
it  is  said,  "  When  thou  hast  cat  off" passion  and  hatred, 
tliou  wilt  go  to  Nirvana ; "  and  in  v.  225   the  same 


182  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

thought  is  expressed,  only  that  instead  of  Nirvawa  we 
have  the  expression  of  unchangeable  place :  "•  The 
sages  who  injure  nobody,  and  who  always  control 
their  body,  they  will  go  to  the  unchangeable  place, 
where,  if  they  have  gone,  they  will  suffer  no  more." 

In  other  passages  Nirva>2a  is  described  as  the  result 
of  right  knowledge.  Thus  we  read  (v.  203),  "Hunger 
is  the  worst  of  diseases,  the  body  the  greatest  of 
pains;  if  one  knows  this  truly,  that  is  Nirvana,  the 
highest  happiness." 

A  similar  thought  seems  contained  in  v.  374 :  "  As 
soon  as  a  man  has  perceived  the  origin  and  destruc- 
tion of  the  elements  of  the  body  (khandha),  he  finds 
happiness  a!ul  joy,  which  belong  to  those  who  know  the 
immortal  (Nirva^ia)  ;  or  which  is  the  immortality  of 
those  who  know  it,  namely,  the  transitory  character  of 
the  body."  In  v.  372  it  is  said  that  he  who  has  knowl- 
edge and  meditation  is  near  unto  Nirvana. 

Nirvana  is  certainly  more  than  heaven  or  heavenly 
joy.  "Some  people  are  born  again  "  (on  earth),  says 
Buddha,  V.  126,  "  evil-doers  go  to  hell ;  righteous  peo- 
ple go  to  heaven  ;  those  who  are  free  from  all  worldly 
desires  enter  Nirvana."  The  idea  that  those  who  had 
reached  the  haven  of  the  gods  were  still  liable  to 
birth  and  death,  and  that  there  is  a  hicrher  state  in 
wliich  the  power  of  birtli  and  death  is  broken,  existed 
clearly  at  the  time  when  the  verses  of  the  Dhamma- 
pada  were  composed.  Thus  we  read  (v.  238),  "  When 
thy  impurities  are  blown  away,  and  thou  art  free  from 
guilt,  thou  wilt  not  enter  again  into  birth  and  decay." 
And  in  the  last  verse  the  hio-hest  state  that  a  Brah- 
mana  can  reach  is  called  "  the  end  of  births,"  ^ati- 
kshaya. 

There  are  many  passages  in  the  Dhammapada  where 


OR   "PATH   OF   VIRTUE."  183 

we  expect  Nirvana,  but  wliere,  instead  of  it,  otlier 
words  are  used.  Here,  no  doubt,  it  miglit  be  said  tliat 
sonietliino;  different  from  Nirva/ia  is  intended,  and  that 
we  liave  no  rio;ht  to  use  sucli  words  as  tbrowino;  li^dit  on 
the  orio;inal  meaning  of  Nirvana.  But,  on  tlie  other 
hand,  these  words,  and  tlie  ])assages  where  tliey  occur, 
must  mean  something  definite;  they  cannot  mean 
heaven  or  the  world  of  the  gods,  for  reasons  stated 
above  ;  and  if  they  do  not  mean  Nirvawa,  tliey  would 
have  no  meaning  at  aU.  There  may  be  some  doubt 
whether  *'  para,"  tlie  shore,  and  particuUii"lv  the  otlier 
shore,  stands  always  for  Nirvana,  and  whether  those 
who  are  said  to  have  reachd  the  other  shore,  are  to 
be  supposed  to  have  entered  Nirvana.  It  may  pos- 
sibly not  have  that  meaning  in  verses  384  and  385, 
but  it  can  hardly  have  another  in  places  such  as  vv. 
85,  86,  347,  348,  355,  414.  There  is  less  doubt,  how- 
ever, that  other  words  are  used  distinctly  as  synonyms 
of  Nirvana.  Such  words  are,  the  quiet  |)lace  (santam 
padam,  vv.  368,  381)  ;  the  changeless  place  {nkyuiam 
sthanam,.v.  225,  compared  with  v.  226);  the  im- 
mortal place  (amatam  padam,  v.  114)  ;  also  simply 
that  which  is  immortal  (v.  374).  In  v.  411  the  ex- 
pression occurs  that  the  wise  dives  into  the  immortal. 

Though,  according  to  Buddha,  everything  that  has 
been  made,  everything  that  was  put  together,  resolves 
itself  again  into  its  component  parts  and  passes  away 
(v.  277,  sarve  sawskar^  anityaA),  he  speaks  never- 
theless of  that  which  is  not  made,  i.  e.,  the  uncreated 
and  eternal,  and  uses  it,  as  it  would  seem,  synony- 
mously with  Nirvana  (v.  97).  Nay,  he  says  (v.  383), 
"  When  you  have  understood  the  destruction  of  all 
that  was  made,  you  will  understand  that  which  was 
not  made."    This  surely  shows  that  even  for  Buddha  a 


184  Buddha's  dhammapada, 

sometliing  existed  wliich  is  not  made,  and  wliicli,  there- 
fore, is  imperishable  and  eternal. 

On  considering  such  sayings,  to  wliich  many  more 
might  be  added,  one  recognizes  in  them  a  conception 
of  Nirva??.a,  altogether  irreconcilable  with  the  nihihsm 
of  the  third  part  of  the  Buddhist  Canon.  It  is  not  a 
question  of  more  or  less,  bnt  of  aiit — aut.  Nirvana 
cannot,  in  the  mind  of  one  and  the  same  person,  mean 
black  and  white,  notliing  and  something.  If  these  say- 
ings, as  recorded  in  the  Dhammapada,  have  maintained 
themselves,  in  spite  of  their  being  in  open  contradic- 
tion to  orthodox  metaphysics,  the  only  explanation,  in 
my  opinion,  is,  that  they  were  too  firmly  fixed  in  the 
tradition  which  went  back  to  Buddlia  and  his  disciples. 
What  Bishop  Bigandet  and  others  represent  as  the 
popular  view  of  Nirvana,  in  contradistitiction  to  that 
of  the  Buddhist  divines,  was,  in  my  opinion,  the  con- 
ception of  Buddha  and  his  disciples.  It  represented 
the  entrance  of  the  soul  into  rest,  a  subduing  of  all 
wishes  and  desires,  indifference  to  joy  and  pain,  to 
good  and  evil,  an  absorption  of  the  soul  in  itself,  and 
a  freedom  from  the  circle  of  existences  from  birth  to 
death,  and  from  death  to  a  new  birth.  Tiiis  is  still 
the  meaning  wdn'ch  educated  people  attach  to  it,  whilst 
to  tlie  minds  of  the  larger  masses  ^  Nirvana  suggests 
rather  the  idea  of  a  Mohammedan  paradise  or  of  bliss- 
ful  Elysian  fields. 

Only  in  the  hands  of  the  philosophers,  to  wdiora 
Buddhism  owes  its  metaphysics,  the  Nirva?^a,  through 
constant  negations  carried  to  an  indefinite  degree, 
through  the  excludino;  and  abstractincr  of  all  that  is 
not  Nirvana,  at  last  became  an  empty  Nothing,  a  phi- 

1  Bij?andet,  The  Life  of  Gaudama,  p.  320,  note ;  Bastian,  Die  Volger 
des  Ostlichen  Asien,  vol.  iii.  p.  353. 


OR 


"PATH   OF   VIRTUE."  185 


losopliical  myth.  There  is  no  lack  of  such  philosophi- 
cal myths  either  in  the  East  or  in  the  West.  What  has 
been  fabled  by  philosophers  of  a  Nothing,  and  of  the 
terrors  of  a  Notliing,  is  as  much  a  mytli  as  the  myth 
of  Eos  and  Tithonus.  There  is  no  more  a  Nothing 
than  there  is  an  Eos  or  a  Chaos.  All  these  are  sickly, 
dying,  or  dead  words,  which,  like  shadows  and  ghosts, 
continue  to  haunt  language,  and  succeed  in  deceiving 
for  a  while  even  the  healthiest  intellect. 

Even  modern  pliilosophy  is  not  afraid  to  say  that 
there  is  a  Notliing.  We  find  passages  in  the  German 
mystics,  such  as  Eckliart  and  Tauler,  where  the  abyss 
of  the  Nothing  is  spoken  of  quite  in  a  Buddhist  style. 
If  Bu<ldha  had  said,  like  St.  Paul,  "  that  what  no  eye 
hath  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  has  it  entered  into 
the  heart  of  man,"  was  prepared  in  the  Nirvana  for 
those  who  had  advanced  to  the  highest  degree  of  spir- 
itual perfection,  such  expressions  would  have  been 
quite  sufficient  to  serve  as  a  proof  to  the  philosophers 
by  profession  that  this  Nirvana,  which  could  not  be- 
come an  object  of  perception  by  the  senses,  nor  of  con- 
ception by  the  categories  of  the  understanding,  —  the 
anakkhata,  the  ineffiible,  as  Buddha  calls  it  (v.  218), — 
could  be  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the  Nothing. 
Could  we  dare  with  Hegel  to  distinguish  between  a 
Nothing  {Nichts)  and  a  Not  (^Nlcht),  we  might  say 
that  the  Nirvana  had,  through  a  false  dialectical  pro- 
cess, been  driven  from  a  relative  Nothing  to  an  abso- 
lute Not.  This  was  the  work  of  the  theologians  and 
of  the  orthodox  philosophers.  But  a  religion  has  never 
been  founded  by  such  teaching,  and  a  man  like  Bud- 
dha, who  knew  mankind,  must  have  known  that  he 
could  not,  with  sucli  weapons,  overturn  the  tyranny  of 
the  Brahmans.     Either  we  must  bring  ourselves  to  bo- 


186  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

lieve  that  Buddha  taught  his  disciples  two  diametri- 
cally opposed  doctrines  on  Nirvana,  say  an  exoteric 
and  esoteric  one,  or  we  must  allow  that  view  of  Nir- 
vana to  have  been  the  original  view  of  the  founder  of 
this  marvelous  religion,  which  we  find  recorded  in  the 
verses  of  the  Dhammapada,  and  which  corresponds 
best  with  the  simple,  clear,  and  practical  character  of 
Buddha. 

ON  THE  TITLE  OF  THE  DHAMMAPADA. 

I  have  still  to  say  a  few  words  on  the  title  of  the 
Dhammapada.  This  title  was  first  rendered  by  Go- 
gerly,  "  The  Footsteps  of  Religion  ;  "  by  Si)ence  Hardy, 
"The  Paths  of  Religion,"  and  this,  I  believe,  is  in  the 
main  a  correct  rendering.  "  Dhartna,"  or,  in  Pali, 
"  dhamma,"  has  many  meanings.  Under  one  as[)ect, 
it  means  religion,  in  so  far,  namely,  as  religion  is  the 
law  that  is  to  be  accepted  and  observed.  Under  an- 
other aspect  "•  dharma  "  is  virtue,  in  so  far,  namely,  as 
virtue  is  the  realization  of  that  law.  Tims  "dharma" 
can  be  rendered  by  law,  by  religion,  more  particularly 
Buddha's  religion,  or  by  virtue. 

"  Pada,"  again,  may  be  rendered  by  footsteps,  but 
its  more  natural  rendering  is  path.  Thus  we  read  in 
verse  21,  "  appamado  amatapadam,"  reflection  is  the 
path  of  immortality,  i.  e.,  the  path  that  leads  to  immor- 
tality. Again,  "  ])amado  maMuno  padam,"  thought- 
less is  the  path  of  death,  i.  e.,  the  path  that  leads  to 
death.  The  commentator  explains  "  i)adam  "  here  by 
"amatasya  adhigamupaya,"  the  means  of  obtaining 
immortality,  i.  e..  Nirvana,  or  simply  by  *'upayo  "  and 
"  magga,"  the  wa^'.^      In  the  same  manner  "  dhamma- 

1  If  we  compare  verses  92  and  93,  and  again  254  and  255,  we  see 
that  "  padam  "  is  used  synonymously  with  "  gati,"  going. 


187 

padam  "  would  mean  "  the  path  of  virtue,"  i.  e.,  the 
path  that  leads  to  virtue,  a  very  appropriate  title  for 
a  collection  of  moral  precepts.  In  this  sense  ''  dliam- 
mapadam  "  is  used  in  verses  44  and  45,  as  I  have  ex- 
plained in  my  notes  to  these  verses. 

Gogerly,  though  not  to  be  trusted  in  all  his  transla- 
tions, may  generally  be  taken  as  a  faithful  representa- 
tive of  the  tradition  of  the  Buddhists  in  Ceylon,  and 
we  may  therefore  take  it  for  granted  that  the  priests 
of  that  island  take  Dhammapada  to  mean,  as  Gogerly 
translates  it,  the  vestiges  of  religion,  or,  from  a  differ- 
ent point  of  view,  the  path  of  virtue. 

It  is  well  known,  however,  that  the  learned  editor 
of  the  Dhammapada,  Dr.  Fausboll,  proposed  a  differ- 
ent rendering.  On  the  strength  of  verses  44  and  102, 
he  translated  "  dhammapada  "  by  "  collection  of  verses 
on  religion."  But  though  "  pada  "  may  mean  a  verse, 
I  doubt  whether  "  pada  "  in  the  singular  could  ever 
mean  a  collection  of  verses.  In  verse  44  ''  padam  " 
cannot  mean  a  collection  of  verses,  for  reasons  I  have 
explained  in  my  notes  ;  and  in  verse  102  we  have,  it 
seems  to  me,  the  best  proof  that,  in  Buddhist  phrase- 
ologv,  ''  dhammapada  "  is  not  to  be  taken  in  a  collect- 
ive sense,  but  means  a  law-verse,  a  wise  saw.  For 
there  we  read,  "Though  a  man  recite  a  hundred 
Gathas  made  up  of  senseless  words,  one  '  dhamma- 
pada,' i,  e.,  one  single  word  or  line  of  the  law,  is  bet- 
ter, which  if  a  man  hears,  he  becomes  quiet."  If  the 
Buddhists  wish  to  speak  of  many  law-verses,  they  use 
the  plural,  dhammapad^ni.^  Thus  Buddhaghosha  says,^ 
*'  Be  it  known  that  the  Gath^  consists  of  the  Dham- 
mapadani.      Theragath^,   Therigatha,  and  those    un- 

1  "  Pada  "  by  itself  forms  the  plural  "  padi,"  as  in  v.  243,  ^aturo 
pada. 

2  D'Alwis,  Pali  Grammar,  p.  61. 


188  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

mixed  (detached)  Gath^  not  comprehended  In  any  of 
the  above-named  Suttant^." 

Unless,  therefore,  it  can  be  proved  that  in  Pali, 
"  padam  "  in  the  singular  can  be  used  in  a  collective 
sense,  so  as  to  mean  a  collection  of  words  or  sayings, 
and  this  has  never  been  done,  it  seems  to  me  that  we 
must  retain  the  translation  of  Gogerly,  "  Footsteps  of 
Religion,"  though  we  may  with  advantage  make  it 
more  intelligible  in  Encjlish  by  renderino-  it  ''  The 
Path  of  Virtue."  The  idea  of  representing  life,  and 
particularly  the  life  of  the  faithful,  as  a  path  of  duty 
or  virtue  leading  to  deliverance  (in  Sanskrit,  dharma- 
patha)  is  very  familiar  to  the  Buddhists.  The  four 
great  truths^  of  their  religion  consist  in  the  recogni- 
tion, (1)  that  there  is  suflPering;  (2)  that  there  is  a 
cause  of  that  suffering ;  (3)  that  such  cause  can  be 
removed ;  (4)  that  there  is  a  way  of  deliverance, 
namely,  the  doctrine  of  Buddha.  This  way,  this 
marga,  is  then  fully  described  as  consisting  of  eight 
stations,^  and  leading  in  the  end  to  Nirva/ia.^  The 
faithful  advances  on  that  road,  '  padat  padam,'  step  by 
step,  and  it  is  therefore  called  pa^ipada,  lit.  the  step 
by  step.* 

The  only  way  in  which  Dhammapadam  could  possi- 
bly be  defended  in  the  sense  of  ''  Collection  of  verses 

1  Spence  Hardy,  Manual,  p.  496.  2  ii^jjj 

3  Burnouf,  Lotas,  p.  520.  "Ajoiitons,  pour  terminer  ce  que  nous 
trouvons  a  dire  sur  le  mot  magga,  quelque  commentaire  qu'on  en  donne 
d'ailleurs,  que  suivant  une  de'Hnition  rapporte'e  par  Tumour,  le  magga 
renferme  une  sous-division  que  Ton  woxnmQ patipadn,  en  Sanscrit  prati- 
pad.  Le  magga,  dit  Turnour,  est  la  voie  qui  conduit  au  Nibb.hia,  le 
pafipad  1,  litteralement  '  la  marche  pas  a  pas,  ou  le  degreV  est  la  vie  de 
rectitude  qu'on  doit  suivre,  quand  on  marche  dans  la  voie  de  maqga." 

^  See  Spence  Hardy,  Manual,  p.  496.  Should  not  "/:aturvidha- 
dharma-pada,"  mentioned  on  p.  497,  be  translated  by  "  the  fourfold 
path  of  the  Law  ?  "     It  can  hardly  be  the  fourfold  word  of  the  Law. 


189 

of  the  Law,"  would  be  if  we  took  it  for  an  aggregate 
compound.  But  such  aggregate  compounds,  in  San- 
skrit at  least,  are  possibly  only  with  numerals,  as,  for 
instance,  Tri-bhuvanam,  the  tliree  worlds,  A;aturyugam, 
the  four  ages.i  It  might,  therefore,  be  possible  to 
form  in  Pali  also  such  com|)ounds  as  dasapadam,  a  col- 
lection of  ten  padas,  a  work  ccmsisting  of  ten  padas,  a 
"  decamerone  "  ;  but  it  would  in  no  way  follow  that 
we  could  attempt  such  a  compound  as  Dhammapadam, 
in  the  sense  of  collection  of  law-verses. 

I  find  that  Dr.  Koppen  has  been  too  cautious  to 
adopt  Dr.  Fausboll's  rendering,  while  Professor  Weber, 
of  Berlin,  not  only  adopts  that  rendering  without  any 
misgivings,  but  in  his  usual  way  blames  me  for  my 
backwardness.^ 

In  conclusion,  I  have  to  say  a  few  words  on  the 
spelling  of  technical  terms  which  occur  in  the  trans- 
lation of  the  Dhammapada  and  in  my  introduction.  It 
is  very  difficult  to  come  to  a  decision  on  this  subject; 
and  I  have  to  confess  that  I  have  not  been  consistent 
throuo-hout  in  followincr  tlie  rule  which  I  think  ought 
to  be  followed.  Most  of  the  technical  terms  employed 
by  Buddhist  writers  come  from  Sanskrit ;  and  in  the 
eyes  of  the  philologist  the  various  forms  which  they 
have  assumed  in  Pali,  in  Burmese,  in  Tibetan,  in 
Chinese,  in  Mongolian,  are  only  so  many  corruptions 

1  See  M.  M.'s  Sanskrit  Grammar,  §  519. 

2  "  Dies  ist  eben  auch  dcr  Sinn,  der  dem  Titel  nnseres  Werkes  zu 
geben  ist  (nicht,  '  Footsteps  of  the  Law  '  wie  neuerdings  noch  M.  Miiller 
will.  s.  dessen  Chips  from  a  G'^rman  Workshop,  vol.  i.  p.  200).  The 
fact  is  that  on  paj^^e  200  of  my  Chips  there  is  no  mention  of  the 
Dhammnpada  at  all,  while  on  page  220  I  had  simply  quoted  from 
Spence  Hardy,  and  given  the  translation  of  Dhammapada,  "  Footsteps 
of  the  Law,"  between  inverted  commas. 


190  Buddha's  dhammapada, 

of  the  same  original  form.  Everything,  therefore, 
would  seem  to  be  in  favor  of  retaining  tlie  Sanskrit 
forms  tliroughont,  and  of  writing,  for  instance,  Nir- 
vana instead  of  the  Pali  Nibbana,  the  Burmese  Niban 
or  Nepbhan,  the  Siamese  Nirupluin,  the  Chinese  Nipan. 
The  only  hoj)e,  in  fact,  that  writers  on  Buddhism  will 
ever  arrive  at  a  uniform  and  generally  intehigible  phra- 
seology seems  to  lie  in  their  agreeing  to  use  through- 
out the  Sanskrit  terms  in  their  original  form,  instead 
of  the  various  local  disguises  and  disKgurements  which 
they  ])iesent  in  Ceylon,  Burniah,  Siam,  Tibet,  China, 
and  Mongolia.  But  against  this  view  another  consid- 
eration is  sure  to  be  urged,  namely,  that  manv  Bud- 
dhist words  have  assumed  such  a  strongly  marked  local 
or  national  character  in  the  diHerent  countries  and  in 
the  dilleient  languages  in  wliich  the  religion  of  Buddha 
has  found  a  new  home,  that  to  translate  them  back 
into  Sanskrit  would  seem  as  affcted,  nay,  prove  in 
certain  cases  as  misleading,  as  if,  in  speaking  o^  priests 
and  klngs^  we  were  to  speak  o^ presbyters  and  eynings. 
Between  the  two  alternatives  of  usino;  the  orimnal 
Sanskrit  forms  or  adopting  their  various  local  varieties, 
it  is  sometimes  difficult  to  choose,  and  the  rule  by 
which  I  have  been  mainly  guided  has  been  to  use  the 
Sanskrit  forms  as  much  as  possible:  in  fact,  every- 
where except  where  it  seemed  affected  to  do  so.  I 
have  therefore  written  Buddhaijhosha  instead  of  the 
Pali  Buddhaghosa,  because  tlie  name  of  that  famous 
theologian,  "  the  Voice  of  Buddha,"  seemed  to  lose  its 
sigiiiHcance  if  turned  into  Buddhaghosa.  But  I  am 
well  aware  what  may  be  said  on  the  other  side.  The 
name  of  Buddhaghosha,  "  Voice  of  Buddha,"  was 
given  him  after  he  had  been  converted  from  Brahman- 
ism  to  Buddhism,  and  it  was  given  to  him  by  people 


191 

to  wliom  the  Pali  word  ghosa  conveyed  the  same 
meaning  as  ghosha  does  to  us.  On  the  otlier  liand,  I 
have  retained  the  Pali  Dhammapada  instead  of  Dhar- 
mapada,  simply  because,  as  the  title  of  a  Pali  book,  it 
has  become  so  familiar  that  to  speak  of  it  as  Dharma- 
pada  seemed  like  speaking  of  another  work.  We  are 
accustomed  to  speak  of  Samanas  instead  of  /S'ramawas, 
for  even  in  the  days  of  Alexander's  conquest,  tlie  San- 
skrit word  ^SVamawa  had  assumed  the  prakritized  or 
vulgar  form  wdiich  we  find  in  Pali,  and  which  alone 
could  have  been  rendered  by  the  later  Gi"eek  wiiters 
(first  by  Alexander  Polyhistor,  80-60,  b.  c.)  by  o-a/xa- 
vaiot.i  As  a  Buddhist  term,  the  Pali  form  Samana 
has  so  entirely  supplanted  that  of  /S'rama/ia  that,  even 
in  the  Dhammapada  (v.  388)  we  ^ud  an  etymology 
of  Samana  as  derived  from  "  sam,"  to  be  quiet,  and  not 
from  "  sram,"  to  toil.  But  though  one  might  bring 
oneself  to  speak  of  Samanas,  who  would  like  to  intro- 
duce Bahmana  instead  of  Brahma?2a?  And  yet  this 
word,  too,  had  so  entirely  been  rej)laced  by  bahma?ia, 
that  in  the  Dhammapada,  it  is  derived  from  a  root 
"  vah,"  to  remove,  to  separate,  to  cleanse.^  My  own 
conviction  is  that  it  would  be  best  if  writers  on  Bud- 
dhist literature  and  religi(m  were  to  adopt  Sanskrit 
throughout  as  the  lingua  franca.  For  an  accurate 
understanding  of  the  original  meaning  of  most  of  the 

1  See  Lassen,  Tndische  Alterthum^hunde,  vol.  ii.  p.  700,  note.  That 
Lassen  is  ri,<;ht  in  taking  the  lapfiuvai,  mentioned  by  Megasthenes, 
for  Brahmanic,  not  for  Buddhist  ascetics,  might  be  proved  also  by 
their  dress.  Dresses  made  of  the  bark  of  trees  are  not  Buddhistic. 
On  page  Ixxix.,  note,  read  Alexander  Polyhistor  instead  of  Bardesanes. 

2  See  Dhammapada,  v.  388 ;  Bastian,  Volker  des  ostlichen  Asien, 
vol.  iii.  p.  412:  "  Ein  buddhistischer  Monch  erklarte  mir,  dass  die 
Brahmanen  ihren  Namen  fiihrten.als  Leute,  die  ihre  Sunden  abgespult 
hatten."     See  also  Lalita-vistara,  p.  551,  line  1 ;  p.  553,  line  7. 


192  Buddha's  dhammapada, 

tecliTilcal  terms  of  Buddhism  a  knowledge  of  their 
Sanskrit  form  is  indispensable  ;  and  nothing  is  lost, 
wln'le  mnch  would  be  gained,  if,  even  in  the  treating 
of  Southern  Buddliism,  we  were  to  speak  of  the  town 
of  ASVavasti  instead  of  Savattlii  in  Pali,  Sevet  in  Singha- 
lese ;  of  Tripitaka,  ''  the  three  baskets,"  instead  of  Pit- 
akattaya  in  Pali,  Tunpitaka  in  Singhalese  ;  of  Artha- 
katha, '' commentary,'  instead  of  Atthakatha  in  Pali, 
Atuwava  in  Singhalese ;  and  therefore  also  of  Dhar- 
mapada,  '-the  path  of  virtue,''  instead  of  Dhammapada. 

MAX  MtJLLER. 

DusTEENBROOK,  near  Kiel,  in  the  summer  of  1869. 


OR  "PATH  OF  VIRTUE."  193 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE   TWIN-VERSES. 
1. 

ALL  tliat  we  are  is  the  result  of  what  we  have 
thought :  it  is  founded  on  our  thoughts,  it  is  made 
up  of  our  tlioughts.  If  a  man  speaks  or  acts  with  an 
evil  thought,  pain  follows  him,  as  the  wheel  follows 
the  foot  of  him  who  draws  the  carriage. 

2. 

All    that  we   are   is   the  result  of  what  we   have 

thought :  it  is  founded  on  our  thoughts,  it  is  made  up 

of  our  thoughts.     If  a  man  speaks  or  acts  with  a  pure 

thouglit,   happiness   follows   him,  like   a  shadow  that 

never  leaves  him. 

(I.)  **  Dharma,"  though  clear  in  its  meaning,  is  diflScult  to  trans- 
late. It  has  different  meanings  in  different  systems  of  philosophy, 
and  its  peculiar  application  in  the  phraseology  of  Buddhism  has 
been  fully  elucidated  by  Burnouf,  Introduction  a  I'Histoire  du  Bud- 
dhisme,  p.  41  seq.  He  writes  :  "  Je  traduis  ordinairement  ce  terme  par 
condition,  d'autres  fois  par  \ois,  mais  aucune  de  ces  traductions  n'est 
parfaitement  complete ;  il  faut  entendre  par  '  dharma '  ce  qui  fait  qu'une 
chose  est,  ce  qu'elle  est,  ce  qui  constitue  sa  nature  propre,  comme  I'a 
bien  montre  Lassen,  a  I'occasion  de  la  ce'lebre  formule,  *  Ye  dharma 
httuprabhava."  Etymolcgically  the  Latin  for-ma  expresses  the  same 
general  idea  which  was  expressed  by  "  dhar-ma."  See  also  Burnouf, 
Lotus  de  la  bonne  Loi,  p.  524.  FausbuU  translates :  "  Naturae  a 
mentc  principium  ducunt,"  which  shows  that  he  understood  *'  dharma  " 
in  the  Buddhist  sense.  Gogerly  and  D'Alwis  translate  :  "  Mind  pre- 
cedes action,"  which,  if  not  wrong,  is  at  all  events  wrongly  expressed  ; 
while  Professor  Weber's  rendering,  "Die  Pflichten  aus  depi  Herz 
folgern,"  is  quite  inadmissible. 
13 


194  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

3. 
"  He  abused  me,  he  beat  me,  he  defeated  me,  he 
robbed    me,"  —  hatred    in    those    who    harbor   such 
thoughts  will  never  cease. 

4. 

"  He  abused  me,  he  beat  me,  he  defeated  me,  he 
robbed  me,"  —  hatred  in  those  who  do  not  harbor 
such  thoughts  will  cease. 

For  hatred  does  not  cease  by  hatred  at  any  time  : 
hatred  ceases  by  love ;  this  is  an  old  rule. 

6. 

And  some  do  not  know  that  we  must  all  come  to  an 
end  liere  ;  but  others  know  it,  and  hence  their  quar- 
rels cease. 

7. 

He  who  lives  looking  for  pleasures  only,  his  senses 
unco!itrolled,  immoderate  in  his  enjoyments,  idle,  and 

(3.)  On  "akkofcHi,"  see  Ka/tHyana,  vi.  4, 17.  D'Alwis,  PAli  Gram- 
mar, p.  38,  note.  "  When  okkokkhi  means  *  abused/  it  is  derived  from 
*  kunsa,'  not  from  '  kudha.'  " 

(6.)  It  is  necessary  to  render  this  verse  freely,  because  literally  trans- 
lated it  would  be  unintelligible.  "  Pare  "  is  explained  by  fools,  but 
it  has  that  meaning  by  implication  only.  There  is  an  opposition 
between  "  pare  ka,"  and  "  ye  A;a,"  which  I  have  rendered  by  "  some  " 
and  "  others."  Yamamase,  a  1  pers.  plur.  imp.  Atm.,  but  really  a  Le< 
in  Paii.     See  FausboU,  Five  Gatakas,  p.  38. 

(7.)  "Mara"  must  be  taken  in  the  Buddhist  sense  of  tempter,  or 
evil  spirit.  See  Burnouf,  Introduction,  p.  76  :  "  Mara  est  le  demon 
de  I'amour,  du  peche  et  de  la  mort;  c'est  le  tentateur  et  I'ennemi 
de  Buddha."  As  to  the  definite  meaning  of  **  virya,"  see  Burnoufi 
Lotus,  p.  548. 

"  Kusita,"  idle,  is  evidently  the  Pftli  representative  of  the  Sanskrit 
"  kusida."  In  Sanskrit  "  kusida,"  slothful,  is  supposed  to  be  derived 
from  "sad,"  to  sit,  and  even  in  its  other  sense,  namely,  a  loan,  it  may 
have   been   intended  originally  for  a  pawn,  or  something    that  lies 


OR   "  PATH   OF   VIRTUE."  195 

weak,  Mara  (tlie  tempter)  will  certainly  overcome 
him,  as  the  wind  throws  down  a  weak  tree. 

inert.  In  the  Buddhistical  Sanskrit,  "  kuslda  "  is  the  exact  counter- 
part of  the  Pali  "  kusita ;  "  see  Burnouf,  Lotus,  p.  548.  But  suppos- 
ing "  kusida  "  to  be  derived  from  "  sad,"  the  d  would  be  organic,  and 
its  phonetic  change  to  t  in  Pali,  against  all  rules.  I  do  not  know 
of  any  instance  where  an  ori<rinal  Sanskrit  d,  between  two  vowels,  is 
changed  to  t  in  Pali.  The  PAli  "  dandham  "  (Dhaiamap.  v.  116)  has 
been  identified  with  "  tandram,"  lazy ;  but  here  the  etymology  is  doubt- 
ful, and  "dandra"  may  really  be  a  more  correct  dialectic  variety,  i.  e., 
an  intensive  form  of  a  root  "dram"  (dru)  or  "drA."  Anyhow  the 
change  here  affects  an  initial,  not  a  medial  d,  and  it  is  suj^posed 
to  be  a  change  of  Sanskrit  t  to  Ptili  d,  not  vice  versa.  Professor 
Weber  supposed  "pithiyati  "  in  v.  173,  to  stand  for  Sk.  "pidhiyate," 
which  is  impossible.  See  Ka^-^ayana's  Grammar,  iv.  21.  Dr.  Faus- 
boll  had  identified  it  rightly  with  Sk.  "  apistiryati."  Comparisons 
such  as  Pali  "  aiapu  "  (v.  149)  with  Sk.  "alabu,"  and  Pali  "  pabba^a" 
(v.  345)  with  Sk.  "  balba^ra,"  prove  nothing  whatever  as  to  a  possible 
change  of  Sk.  d  to  Pali  t,  for  they  refer  to  words  the  organic  form 
of  wiiich  is  doubtful,  and  to  labials  instead  of  dentals. 

A  much  better  instance  was  pointed  out  to  me  by  Mr.  R.  C. 
Childers,  namely  the  Pali  "  patu,"  Sk.  "  pradus,"  clearly,  openly.  Here 
however,  the  question  arises,  whether  "  pitu  "  may  not  be  due  to 
dialectic  variety,  instead  of  phonetic  decay.  If  "  patu  "  is  connected 
with  "  pratar,"  before,  early,  "pradus"  would  be  a  peculiar  San&krit 
corruption,  due  to  a  mistaken  recollection  of  "  dus,"  while  the  Pali 
"patu"  would  have  preserved  the  original  t. 

Anyhow,  we  require  far  stronger  evidence  before  we  can  admit  a 
medial  t  in  Pali  as  a  phonetic  corruption  of  a  medial  d  in  Sanskrit. 
We  might  as  well  treat  the  O.  H.  G.  t  as  a  phonetic  corruption  of 
Gothic  d.  The  only  way  to  account  for  the  Pali  form  "  kusita  "  in- 
stead of  "kusida,"  is  by  admitting  the  influence  of  popular  etymology. 
Pali  has  in  many  case  lost  its  etymological  consciousness.  It  derives 
"  sama?ia  "  from  a  root  "  sam,"  "  b  (r)  ahmana  "  from  "  bah  ;  "  see  v. 
388.  Now  as  "  sita  "  in  Pali  means  cold,  apathetic,  but  in  a  good 
sense,  "  kusita  "  may  have  been  formed  in  Pali  to  express  apathetic  in 
a  bad  sense. 

Further,  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  Sanskrit  etymology  of 
"kusida"  from  "sad,"  though  plausible,  is  by  no  means  certain.  If, 
on  the  one  hand,  "kusida"  might  have  been  misinterpreted  in  Pali, 
and  changed  to  "  kusita,"  it  is  equally  possible  that  "  kusita,"  sup- 
posing this  to  have  been  the  original  form,  was  misinterpreted  in 
Sanskrit,  and  changed  there  to  "  kusida."     "  Sai  "  is  mentioned  as  a 


196  Buddha's  dhammapada, 

8. 
He  who  lives  without  looking  for  pleasures,  his 
senses  well  controlled,  in  his  enjoyments  moderate, 
faithful  and  strong,  Mara  will  certainly  not  overcome 
him,  any  more  than  the  wind  throws  down  a  rocky 
mountain. 

9. 

He  who  wishes  to  put  on  the  sacred  orange-colored 
dress  without  having  cleansed   himself  from  sin,  who 

Sk.  root  in  the  sense  of  tahescpre ;  from  it  "kusita  "  might  possibly 
be  derived  in  the  sense  of  idle.  "  Sita  "  in  Sanskrit  is  what  is  sown, 
"sita,"  the  furrow;  from  it  "kusita"  might  mean  a  bad  laborer. 
These  are  merely  conjectures,  but  it  is  certainly  remarkable  that 
there  is  an  old  Vedic  proper  name  Kushita-ka,  the  founder  of  the 
Kaushitakas,  whose  Brahmawa,  the  Kaushitaki-brahmana,  belongs  to 
the  Rig- Veda.  An  extract  from  it  was  translated  in  my  History  of 
Ancient  Sanskrit  Literature,  p.  407, 

Lastly,  it  should  be  mentioned,  that  while  "  kusita  "  is  the  PAli 
counterpart  of  "  kusida,"  the  abstract  name  in  Pali  is  "kosa^^a,'* 
Sanskrit  "  kausidya,"  and  not  "  kosa/cA:a/-  as  it  would  have  been  if 
derived  from  "  kusita." 

(9.)  The  saffron  dress,  of  a  reddish-yellow  or  orange  color,  the 
Kasava  or  Kashiya,  is  the  distinctive  garment  of  the  Buddhist 
priests.  The  play  on  the  words  "  anikkascWo  kasavam,"  or  in  Sanskrit, 
"  anishkashaya/i  kashiyam,"  cannot  be  rendered  in  English.  "  Ka- 
shaya  "  means,  impurity,  "  nish-kashnya,"  free  from  impurity,  "  anish- 
kashaya,"  not  free  from  impurity,  while  "  kashaya  "  is  the  name  of  the 
orange-colored  or  yellowish  Buddhist  garment.  The  pun  is  evidently 
a  favorite  one,  for,  as  FausboU  shows,  it  occurs  also  in  the  Mahd- 
hhdrata,  xii.  568  ;  — 

Anishkashaye  kishayam  ihartham  iti  viddhi  tam, 
Pharniadhva^anam  mumyana/n  vrittyartham  iti  me  matiA. 

"  Know  that  this  orange-colored  garment  on  a  man  who  is  not  free 
from  impurity,  serves  only  for  the  purpose  of  cupidity;  my  opinion  is, 
that  it  is  meant  to  supply  the  means  of  living  to  those  men  with 
shaven  heads,  who  carry  their  virtue  like  a  flag." 

(I  read  "  vrittyartham,"  according  to  the  Bombay  edition,  instead  of 
"k/itartham,"  the  reading  of  the  Calcutta  edition.) 

With  regard  to  "  sila,"  virtue,  see  Burnouf,  Lotus,  p.  547. 

On  the  exact  color  of  the  dress,  see  Bishop  Bigandet,  The  Life 
or  Legend  of  Gaudania,  the  Buddha  of  the  Burmese,  Rangoon,  1866, 
p.  504. 


OR   "  PATH   OF   VIRTUE."  197 

disrecrards  also  temperance  and  truth,  is  unworthy  of 
the  orange-colored  dress. 

10. 
But  he  who  has  cleansed  himself  from  sin,  is  well 
grounded  in  all  virtues,  and  regards  also  temperance 
and   truth,  is  indeed  worthy    of    the  orange-colored 

dress. 

11. 

They  who  imagine  truth  in  untruth,  and  see  untruth 
in  truth,  never  arrive  at  truth,  but  follow  vain  desires. 

12. 

They  who  know  truth  in  truth,  and  untruth  in  un- 
truth, arrive  at  truth,  and  follow  true  desires. 

13. 

As  rain  breaks  through  an  ill-thatched  house,  pas- 
sion will  break  through  an  unreflecting  mind. 

14. 
As  rain    does   not   break   through  a  well-thatched 
house,  passion  will  not  break  through  a  well-reflecting 

mind. 

15. 

The  evil-doer  mourns  in  this  world,  and  he  mourns 

(11,12.)"  Sara,"  which  I  have  translated  by  truth,  has  many  mean- 
ings in  Sanskrit.  It  means  the  sap  of  a  thing,  then  essence  or  real- 
ity ;  in  a  metaphysical  sense,  the  highest  reality ;  in  a  moral  sense, 
truth.  It  is  impossible  in  a  translation  to  do  more  than  indicate 
the  meaning  of  such  words,  and  in  order  to  understand  them  fully, 
we  must  know  not  only  their  definition,  but  their  history. 

(15.)  "  Kili«;ia"  is  "  klish^a,"  a  participle  of  "klis."  It  means  lit- 
erally, what  is  spoilt.  The  abstract  noun  "  klesa,"  evil  or  sin,  is  con- 
stantly employed  in  Buddhist  works  ;  see  Burnouf,  Lotus,  p.  443. 
Possibly  the  words  were  intended  to  be  separated,  "  kamraa  kili^Aam," 
and  not  to  be  joined  like  "  kamma-visuddhim  "  in  the  next  verse. 


198  buddha's  dhammapada, 

in  the  next ;  he  mourns  in  both.     He  mourns,  he  suf- 
fers when  he  sees  the  evil  of  his  own  work. 

16. 
The  virtuous  man  deliojhts  in  this  world,  and  he  de- 
h'ghts  in  tlie  next ;  he  delights  in  both.     He  dehglits, 
he  rejoices,  when  he  sees  the  purity  of  his  own  work. 

17. 

The  evil-doer  suffers  in  this  world,  and  he  suffers  in 
the  next ;  he  suffers  in  both.  He  suffers  when  he 
thinks  of  the  evil  he  has  done ;  he  suffers  more  when 
going  on  the  evil  path. 

18. 
The  virtuous  man  is  happy  in  this  world,  and  he  is 
happy  in  the  next  ;  he  is  happy  in  both.     He  is  happy 
when  he  thinks  of  the  good  he  has  done  ;  he  is  still 
more  happy  wlien  going  on  the  good  path. 

19. 
The  thoughtless  man,  even  if  he  can  recite  a  large 
portion   (of  the  law),  but  is  not  a  doer  of  it,  has  no 
share  in  the  priesthood,  but  is  like  a  cowherd  counting 
the  cows  of  others. 

(16.)  Like  "klishfa"  in  the  preceding  verse,  "visuddhi"  in  the 
present  has  a  technical  meaning  One  of  Buddhaghosha's  most 
famous  works  is  called  "  Visuddhi  magga."  See  Burnouf,  Lotus, 
p.  844. 

(17,  18.)  "  The  evil  path  and  the  good  path"  are  technical  expres- 
sions for  the  descending  and  ascending  scale  of  worlds  through 
which  all  beings  have  to  travel  upward  or  downward,  according  to 
their  deeds.  See  Bisfandet,  Life  of  Gandama,  p.  5,  note  4,  and  p. 
449  ;  Burnouf,  Introduction,  p.  599  ;  Lotus,  p.  865,  1.  7  ;  1.  11. 

(19.)  In  taking  "  sahitam  "  in  the  sense  of  *' samhitam  "  or  "  sawhita,** 
I  follow  the  commentator,  who  says,  "  Tepi^akassa  Buddava^anass  ** 


OR   "  PATH  OF  VIRTUE."  199 

20. 
The  follower  of  the  law,  even  if  he  can  recite  only 
a  small  portion  (of  the  law),  but,  having  forsaken 
passion  and  hatred  and  foolishness,  possesses  true 
knowledge  and  serenity  of  mind,  he,  caring  for  nothing 
in  this  world,  or  that  to  come,  has  indeed  a  share  in 
the  priesthood. 

etam  namam,"  but  I  cannot  find  another  passage  where  the  TripKaka, 
or  any  portion  of  it,  is  called  Sahita.  "  Samhita  "  in  w.  100-102,  has 
a  different  meaning.  The  fact  that  some  followers  of  Buddha  were 
allowed  to  learn  short  portions  only  of  the  sacred  writings  by- 
heart,  and  to  repeat  them,  while  others  had  to  learn  a  larger  collec- 
tion, is  shown  by  the  story  of  ^akkhwpala,  p.  3,  of  Mahik^la,  p. 
26,  etc. 

"  Samanna,"  which  I  have  rendered  by  "  priesthood,"  expresses  all; 
that  belongs  to,  or  constitutes  a  real  samana  or  sramana,  this  being 
the  Buddhist  name  corresponding  to  the  brahma/ia,  or  priest,  of  the 
orthodox  Hindus.  Buddha  himself  is  frequently  called  the  Good 
Samana.  Fausboll  takes  the  abstract  word  "  skmanna,  "  as  correspond- 
ing to  the  Sanskrit  "  samSnya,"  community,  but  Weber  has  well 
shown  that  it  ought  to  be  taken  as  representing  "  sramanya."  He 
might  have  quoted  the  "  SAmanna  phala  sutta"  of  which  Burnouf  has 
given  such  interesting  details  in  his  Lotus,  p.  449  seq.  Fausboll  also, 
in  his  notes  on  v.  332,  rightly  explains  *  samannat^ '  by  '  srdman- 
yata.' 

"  Anupadiyano,"  which  I  have  translated  by  "  caring  for  nothing," 
has  a  technical  meaning.  It  is  the  negative  of  the  fourth  Nidana, 
the  so-called  Upadana,  which  Koppen  has  well  explained  by  "  Anhang- 
lichkeit,"  taking  to  the  world,  loving  the  world.  Koppen,  Die  Re- 
ligion des  Buddha,  p.  610. 


200  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 


CHAPTER  11. 

ON    REFLECTION. 

21. 
"DEFLECTION  is  the  path  of  immortality,  thoncrht- 
-^^   lessness  the  path    of  death.     Those  who  reflect 
do  not  die,  those  who  are  thoughtless  are  as  if  dead 
already. 

22. 
Having  understood  this  clearly,  those  who  are  ad- 
vanced in  reflection,  delight  in  reflection,  and  rejoice 
in  the  knowledge  of  the  Ariyas  (the  Elect). 

(21.)  "  Apramida,"  which  Fausboll  translates  by  vigilantia,  Go- 
gerly  by  religion,  expresses  literally  the  absence  of  that  giddiness 
or  thoughtlessness  which  characterizes  the  state  of  mind  of  worldly 
people.  It  is  the  first  entering  into  one's  self,  and  hence  all  virtues 
are  said  to  have  their  root  in  "  apramada."  (Ye  keA;i  kusala  dhamma 
sabbe  te  appamadamulak^.)  I  have  translated  it  by  "  reflection," 
sometimes  by  "  earnestness."  Immortality,  amrita,"  is  explained  by 
Buddhaghosha  as  Nirvana.  "  Amrita  "  is  used,  no  doubt,  as  a  syn- 
onym of  NirvJkna,  but  this  very  fact  shows  how  many  conceptions 
entered  from  the  very  first  into  the  NirvAna  of  the  Buddhists. 

If  it  is  said  that  those  who  reflect  do  not  die,  this  may  be  under- 
stood of  spiritual  death.  The  commentator,  however,  takes  it  in 
a  technical  sense,  that  they  are  free  from  the  two  last  stages  of  the 
so-called  Nid&nas,  namely,  the  Garamarana  (decay  and  death)  and 
the  Gkti  (new  birth).  See  Koppen,  Die  Religion  des  Buddha,  p. 
609. 

(22.)  The  Ariyas,  the  noble  or  elect,  are  those  who  have  entered 
on  the  path  that  leads  to  Nirvana.  See  Koppen,  p.  396.  Their 
knowledge  and  general  status  is  minutely  described.  See  Koppen, 
p.  436. 


OR  "  PATH  OF   VIRTUE."  201 

23. 
These  wise  people,  meditative,  steady,  always  pos- 
sessed of  strong  powers,  attain  to  Nirvana,  the  highest 
happiness. 

24. 

If  a  reflecting  person  has  roused  himself,  if  he  is 
not  forgetful,  if  his  deeds  are  pure,  if  he  acts  with 
consideration,  if  he  restrains  liimself,  and  Hves  accord- 
ing to  law,  —  then  his  glory  will  increase. 

25. 
By  rousing  himself,  by  reflection,  by  restraint  and 
control,  the  wise  man  may  make  for  himself  an  island 
which  no  flood  can  overwhelm. 

26. 
Fools  follow  after  vanity,  men  of  evil  wisdom.    The 
wise  man  possesses  reflection  as  his  best  jewel. 

27. 
Follow  not  after  vanity,  nor  after  the  enjoyment  of 
love  and  lust !     He  who  reflects  and  meditates,   ob- 
tains ample  joy. 

28. 

When  the  learned  man  drives  away  vanity  by  re- 
flection, he,  the  wise,  having  reached  the  repose  of 
wisdom,  looks  down  upon  the  fools,  far  from  toil  upon 
the  toiling  crowd,  as  a  man  who  stands  on  a  hill 
looks  down  on  those  who  stand  on  the  ground. 

29. 
Reflecting  among  the  thoughtless,  awake  among  the 
sleepers,  the  wise  man  advances  like  a  racer  leaving 
behind  the  hack. 


202  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

30. 
By  earnestness  did  Macrhavan  (Tndra)  rise  to  the 
lordship    of    the   gods.      People   praise    earnestness; 
thoughtlessness  is  always  blamed. 

31. 
A  Bhikshu  (mendicant)  who  delights  in  reflection, 
who  looks  with  fear  on   thoughtlessness,  moves  about 
like  fire,  burning  all  his  fetters,  small  or  large. 

32. 
A  Bhikshu  (mendicant)  who  delights  in  reflection, 
who  looks  with  fear  on  thoughtlessness,  will  not  go  to 
destruction  —  he  is  near  to  Nirvawa. 

(31.)  Instead  of  "  saham,"  which  Dr.  Fausboll  translates  by 
vincens,  Dr.  Weber  by  "  conquering,"  I  think  we  ought  to  read 
"  <fahan,"  burning,  which  was  evidently  the  reading  adopted  by  Bud- 
dhaghosha.  Mr.  R.  C.  Childers,  whom  I  requested  to  see  whether 
the  MS.  at  the  India  Office  gives  "sahara  "  or  "  daha,m,"  writes  that 
the  reading  "  o?aham "  is  as  clear  as  possible  in  that  MS.  The 
fetters  are  meant  for  the  senses.     See  SUtra,  370. 


OR  "PATH  OF  VIRTUE."  203 


CHAPTER  III. 

THOUGHT. 
33. 

AS  a  fletcher  makes  straight  his  arrow,  a  wise  man 
makes    straight     his    trembling    and    unsteady 
thought,  which  is  difficult  to  keep,  difficult  to  turn. 

34. 
As  a  fish  taken  from  his  watery  home  and  thrown 
on  the  dry  ground,  our  thought  trembles  all  over  in 
order  to  escape  the  dominion  of  Mara  (the  tempter). 

35. 
It  is  good  to   tame  the  mind,  which  is  difficult  to 
hold    in   and    flighty,  rushing  wherever  it  listeth ;  a 
tamed  mind  brings  liappiness. 


Let  the  wise  man  guard  his  thoughts,  for  they  are 
difficult  to  perceive,  very  artful,  and  they  rush  where- 
ever  they  list:  thoughts  well  guarded  bring  happi- 
ness. 

37. 

Those  who  bridle  their  mind  which  travels  far, 
moves  about  alone,  is  without  a  body,  and  hides  in  the 
chamber  (of  the  heart),  will  be  free  from  the  bonds  of 
Mara  (the  tempter). 

(34.)  On  MSra,  see  verses  7  and  8. 


204  Buddha's  dhammapada, 

38. 
If  a  man's  thoughts   are    unsteady,  if  he  does  not 
know  the  true  law,  if  his  peace  of  mind  is  troubled, 
his  knowledge  will  never  be  perfect. 

39. 
If  a  man's  thoughts  are  not  dissipated,  if  his  mind 
is  not  perplexed,  if  he  has  ceased  to  think  of  good  or 
evil,  then  there  is  no  fear  for  him  while  he  is  watch- 
ful. 

(39.)  Fausboll  traces  "  anavassuta,"  dissipated,  back  to  the  Sanskrit 
root  "  syai,"  to  become  rigid  ;  but  the  participle  of  that  root  would  be 
"sita,"  not"syuta."  Professor  Weber  suggests  that  "anavassuta," 
stands  for  the  Sanskrit  "anavasruta,"  which  he  translates  "  unbe- 
fleckt,"  unspotted.  If  "  avasruta  "  were  the  right  word,  it  might  be 
taken  in  the  sense  of  "not  fallen  off,  not  fallen  away,"  but  it  could 
not  mean  "  unspotted  ;"  cf.  "  dhairyam  no  ssusruvat,"  our  firmness  ran 
away.  I  have  little  doubt,  however,  that  "  avassuta"  represents  the 
Sk.  "  avasruta,"  and  is  derived  from  the  root  "  sru"  here  used  in  its 
technical  sense,  peculiar  to  the  Buddhist  literature,  and  so  well  ex- 
plained by  Burnouf  in  his  Appendix  XIV.  lydus,  p.  820.  He 
shows  that,  according  to  Hemal-andra  and  the  6rina  alankAra,  asra- 
vakshaya,  Pali  asavasa/wkhaya,  is  counted  as  the  sixth  abhi^rna,  wher- 
ever six  of  these  intellectual  powers  are  mentioned,  instead  of  five. 
The  Chinese  translate  the  term  in  their  own  Chinese  fashion  by 
stillationis  finis,  but  Burnouf  claims  for  it  the  definite  sense  of  de- 
struction of  faults  or  vices.  He  quotes  from  the  Lalita-visfara  ( Adhyftya 
xxii.,  ed.  Rajendra  Lai  Mittra,  p.  448)  the  words  uttered  by  Buddha 
when  he  arrived  at  his  complete  Buddha-hood  :  — 
sushka  a.5rava  na  puna/i  sravanti 
"  The  vices  are  dried  up,  they  will  not  flow  again," 
and  he  shows  that  the  Pali  dictionary,  the  Abhidhnnappadipikd,  ex- 
plains "  asava"  simply  by  "  kama,"  love,  pleasure  of  the  senses.  In  the 
MahAparinibbAna  sutta,  three  classes  of  asava  are  distinguished,  the 
kamasavA,  the  bhavSsava,  and  the  avi^^asavS.  See  also  Burnouf, 
Lotus,  p.  665. 

Burnouf  takes  "Asrava"  at  once  in  a  moral  sense,  but  though  it  has 
that  sense  in  the  language  of  the  Buddhists,  it  may  have  had  a  more 
material  sense  in  the  beginning.  That  "sru,"  means,  to  nin,  and  is 
in  fact  a  merely  dialectic  variety  of  "  sra,"  is  admitted  by  Burnouf. 
The  noun  "  asrava,"  therefore,  would  have  meant  originally,  a  running. 


OR   "PATH   OF   VIRTUE."  205 

'   40. 
Knowing  that  this  body  is  (fragile)  like  a  jar,  and 
making  this  thought  firm  like  a  fortress,  one  should 

and  the  question  is,  did  it  mean  a  running,  i.  e.  a  lapsus,  or  did  it 
mean  a  running,  i.  e.  an  impetuous  desire,  or,  lastly,  did  it  signify  orig- 
inally a  bodily  ailment,  a  running  sore,  and  assume  afterwards  the 
meaning  of  a  moral  ailment?  The  last  view  might  be  supported  by 
the  fact  that  "  asrA  va"  in  the  sense  of  flux  or  sore  occurs  in  the  Atharva- 
veda,  i.  2,  4,  "  tad  asravasya  bheshagraw  tadu  rogam  aninasat,"  this  is 
the  medicine  for  the  sore,  this  destroyed  the  illness.  But  if  this  was 
the  original  meaning  of  the  Buddhist  "  dsava,"  it  would  be  difficult  to 
explain  such  a  word  as  "  anasava,"  faultless,  nor  could  the  participle 
"  avasuta  "  or  "  avassuta  "  have  taken  the  sense  of  sinful  or  faulty,  or, 
at  all  events,  engaged  in  worldly  thoughts,  attached  to  mundane  in- 
terests. In  order  to  get  that  meaning,  we  must  assign  to  "  Asrava  "  the 
original  meaning  of  runtung  towards  or  attending  to  external  objects 
(like  "  sanga,  alaya,"  etc.)  while  "  avasruta  "  would  mean,  carried  off 
towards  external  objects,  deprived  of  inward  rest.  This  conception  of 
the  original  purport  of  "  a-|-sru  "  or  "  ava-sru  "  is  confirmed  by  a  state- 
ment of  Colebrooke's,  who,  when  treating  of  the  Cainas,  writes  {Mis- 
cellaneous L.isaf/s,  i.  382) :  "  Asrava  is  that  which  directs  the  embodied 
spirit  (asravayati  purusham)  towards  external  objects.  It  is  the  occu- 
pation and  employment  (vritti  or  pravritti)  of  the  senses  or  organs  on 
sensible  objects.  Through  the  means  of  the  senses  it  affects  the  em- 
bodied spirit  with  the  sentiment  of  taction,  color,  smell,  and  taste.  Or 
it  is  the  association  or  connection  of  body  with  right  and  wrong  deeds. 
It  comprises  all  the  karnias,  for  they  (Asravayanti)  pervade,  influence, 
and  attend  the  doer,  following  him  or  attaching  to  him.  It  is  a  mis- 
direction (mithya-pravritti)  of  the  organs,  for  it  is  vain,  a  cause  of 
disappointment,  rendering  the  organs  of  sense  and  sensible  objects 
subservient  to  fruition.  Samvara  is  that  which  stops  (samvn«oti)  the 
course  of  the  foregoing,  or  closes  up  the  door  or  passage  to  it,  and 
consists  in  self-command  or  restraint  of  organs  internal  and  external, 
embracing  all  means  of  self-control  and  subjection  of  the  senses,  calm- 
ing and  subduing  them." 

For  a  full  account  of  the  Asravas,  see  also  Lalita-vistara,  ed.  Calc. 
pp.  44.5  and  552,  where  Kshinasrava  is  given  as  a  name  of  Buddha. 

(40.)  *'  Anivesana"  has  no  doubt  a  technical  meaning,  and  may  sig- 
nify, one  who  has  left  his  house,  his  family  and  friends,  to  become  a 
monk.  A  monk  shall  not  return  to  his  home,  but  travel  about ;  he 
shall  be  anivesana,  homeless,  anagara,  houseless.  But  I  doubt 
whether  this  can  be  the  meaning  of"  anivesana"  here,  as  the  sentence, 
let  him  be  an  anchorite,  would  come  in  too  abruptly.    I  translate  it 


206  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA. 

attack  Mara  (the  tempter)  with  the  weapon  of  knowl- 
edge, one  should  watch  him  when  conquered,  and 
should  never  cease  (from  the  fight). 

41. 
Before  long,   alas !  this  body  will  lie  on  the  earth, 
despised,  without  understanding,  like  a  useless  log. 

42. 

Whatever  a  hater  may  do  to  a  hater,  or  an  enemy 
to  an  enemy,  a  wrongly-directed  mind  will  do  us 
greater  mischief. 

43. 

Not  a  mother,  not  a  father  will  do  so  much,  nor  any 
other  relative ;  a  well-directed  mind  will  do  us  greater 
service. 

therefore  in  a  more  general  sense,  let  him  not  return  or  turn  away 
from  the  battle,  let  him  watch  Mftra,  even  after  he  is  vanquished,  let 
him  keep  up  a  constant  fight  against  the  adversary. 


OR   "PATH  OF  VIRTUE."  207 


CHAPTER  IV. 

FLOWERS. 
44. 

WHO  shall  overcome  this  earth,  and  the  world  of 
Yama  (the  lord  of  the  departed),  and  the  world 
of  the  -gods  ?  Who  shall  find  out  the  plainly  shown 
path  of  virtue,  as  a  clever  man  finds  out  the  (right) 
flower  ? 

45. 

Tlie  disciple  will  overcome  the  earth,  and  the  world 
of  Yama,  and  the  world  of  the  gods.  The  disciple 
will  find  out  the  plainly  shown  path  of  vii'tue,  as  a 
clever  man  finds  out  the  (right)  flower. 

(44,  45.)  If  I  differ  from  the  translation  of  Fausboll  and  "Weber  it  is 
because  the  commentary  takes  the  two  verbs,  "  vi^essati "  and  "  pa- 
^essati,"  to  mean  in  the  end  the  same  thing,  i.  e.,  "  sa/;H<-karissati,"  he 
will  perceive.  I  have  not  ventured  to  take  "  vi^'essate  "  for  "vi^ran- 
issati,"  but  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  overcoming  of  the  earth 
and  of  the  worlds  below  and  above,  as  here  alluded  to,  is  meant  to  be 
achieved  by  means  of  knowledge.  "  PaA:essati,"  he  will  gather  (cf  vi-ti, 
Indische  Spriiche,  4560),  means  also,  like  to  gather  in  English,  he  will 
perceive  or  understand,  and  the  "  dhamraapada,"  or  path  of  virtue,  is 
distinctly  explained  by  Buddhaghosha  as  consisting  of  the  thirty-seven 
states  or  stations  which  lead  to  Bodhi.  See  Burnouf,  Lotus,  p.  430  ; 
Hardy,  Manual,  p.  497.  "  Dhammapada  "  might,  no  doubt,  mean  also 
"  a  law-verse,"  but  "  sudesita  "  can  hardly  mean  "  well  delivered," 
while,  as  applied  to  a  path,  it  means  "  well  pointed  out"  (v.  285.)  Bud- 
dha himself  is  called  "  Marga-dar.saka  "  and  "  Marga-desika  "  (cf  Lali- 
ta-vistara,  p.  551),  Nor  could  one  well  say  that  a  man  collects  one  sin- 
gle law-verse.  Hence  Fausboll  naturally  translates  versus  legis  bene 
enarratos,  and  Weber  gives  "  Lehrspriiche  "  in  the  plural,  but  theorigi- 


208  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

46. 
He  who  knows  that  this  body  is  like  froth,  and  has 
learnt  that  it  is  as  unsubstantial  as  a  mirage,  will  break 
the  flower-pointed  arrow  of  Mara,  and  never  see  the 
King  of  Death. 

47. 
Death  carries  off  a  man  who  is  gathering  flowers 
and  whose   mind  is  distracted,  as  a  flood  carries  off  a 
sleeping  village. 

48. 
Death  subdues  a  man  who  is  gathering  flowers,  and 
whose  mind  is  distracted,  before  he  is  satiated   in  his 
pleasures. 

49. 
As  the  bee  collects  nectar  and  departs  without  in- 

nal  has  "  dhammapadam,"  in  the  sing.  (47,  48).  There  is  a  curious 
similarity  between  these  verses  and  verses  6540-41,  and  9939  of  the 
<S&nti-parva ;  — 

PushpSniva  viWnvantam  anyatragatamanasam, 
Anavapteshu  kameshu  mr/tyur  abh>eti  m&aavam. 

"Death  approaches  man  like  one  who  is  gathering  flowers,  and  whose 
mind  is  turned  elsewhere,  before  his  desires  have  been  fulfilled." 

Suptaw  Tyighrajw  mahaugho  v^  mr/tyur  ad^ya  ga/fcMati, 
S&mkinySiuakam  evainawi  kamanam  avitriptikam. 

"As  a  Stream  (carries  off)  a  sleeeping  tiger,  death  carries  off  this 
man  who  is  gathering  flowers,  and  who  is  not  satiated  in  his  pleas- 
ures." 

This  last  verse,  particularly,  seems  to  me  clearly  a  translation  from 
P&li,  and  the  "  kam  "  of  "  sarwA;invanakam  "  looks  as  if  put  in  metri 
causa. 

(46.)  The  flower-arrows  of  MAra,  the  tempter,  are  borrowed  from 
K^ma,  the  Hindu  god  of  love.  For  a  similar  expression  see  Lalita- 
vistara,  ed.  Calc.  p.  40,  1.  20,  "  mayamari^-isadrisa  vidyutphenopamAs 
A;apalaA,"  It  is  on  account  of  this  parallel  passage  that  I  prefer  to 
translate  "  mariA;i "  by  mirage,  and  not  by  sunbeam,  as  FausboU,  or 
by  solar  atom,  as  Weber  proposes. 

(48.)  "Antaka,"  death,  is  given  as  an  explanation  of  "  MSra  "  in 
the  Amarakosha  and  Abhidh^nappadipika  (cf.  Fausboll,  p.  210). 


209 

jiin'ng   the  flower,  or  its  color  and  scent,  so  let  the 
sage  dwell  on  earth. 
^  60. 

Not  the  failures  of  others,  not  their  sins  of  commis- 
sion or  omission,  but  his  own  uiisdeeds  and  negligences 
should  the  sage  take  notice  of. 

61. 

Like  a  beautiful  flower,  full  of  color,  but  without 
scent,  are  the  fine  but  fruitless  words  of  him  who  does 
not  act  accordingly. 

"^  62. 

But,  like  a  beautiful  flower,  full  of  color  and  full  of 
scent,  are  the  fine  and  fruitful  words  of  him  who  acts 
accordingly. 

"'  53. 

As  many  kinds  of  wreaths  can  be  made  from  a  heap 
of  flowers,  so  many  good  things  may  be  achieved  by  a 
mortal  if  once  he  is  born. 

54. 
The   scent  of  flowers   does  not  travel   against  the 
wind,  nor  (that  of)  sandal-wood,  or  of  a  bottle   of 
Tagara  oil  ;  but  the  odor  of  good  people  trave-ls  even 
against  the  wind  ;  a  good  man  pervades  every  place. 

55. 
Sandal-wood  or  Tagara.  a  lotus  flower,  or  a  Vassiki, 
the   scent  of  their  excellence   is  peerless  when  their 
fragrance  is  out. 

(54.)  "Tagara,"  a  plant  from  which  a  scented  powder  is  made. 
"Mallaka"  or  "  mallika,"  accordinj;    to  Benfey,   is    an    oil   vessel. 
Hence   "  tagaramallik^ "   is    probably   meant   for   a   bottle    holding 
aromatic  powder,  or  oil  made  of  the  Tagara. 
14 


210  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

But  mean  is  the  scent  that  comes  from  Tagara  and 
sandal-wood ;  the  odor  of  excellent  people  rises  up 
to  the  gods  as  the  highest. 

5T. 
Of  the  people  who  possess  these  excellencies,  who 
live  without  thoughtlessness,  and  who  are  emancipated 
through   true    knowledge,  Mara,  the   tempter,  never 
finds  the  way. 

58,  59. 

As  on  a  heap  of  rubbish  cast  upon  the  highway  the 
lily  will  grow  full  of  sweet  perfume  and  delightful, 
thus  the  disciple  of  the  truly  enlightened  Buddha 
shines  forth  by  his  knowledge  among  those  who  are 
like  rubbish,  among  the  people  that  walk  in  darkness. 


"PATH  OF  VIRTUE."  211 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE    FOOL. 
60. 

LONG  is  the  night  to  him  who  is  awake  ;  long  is  a 
mile  to  him  who  is  tired  ;  long  is  lite  to  the  foolish 
who  do  not  know  the  true  law. 

61. 
If  a  traveller  does  not  meet  with  one  who  is  his  bet- 
ter, or  his  equal,  let  him  firmly  keep  to  his  solitary 
journey  ;  there  is  no  companionship  with  a  fool. 

62. 

"  These  sons  belong  to  me,  and  this  wealth  belongs 
to  me  ;  "  with  such  thoughts  a  fool  is  tormented.  He 
himself  does  not  belong  to  himself;  how  much  less 
sons  and  wealth  ? 


The  fool  who  knows  his  foolishness,  is  wise  at  least 
so  far.  But  a  fool  who  thinks  himself  wise,  he  is  called 
a  fool  indeed. 

64. 

If  a  fool  be  associated  with  a  wise  man  all  his  life, 

(60.)  Life,  samsara,  is  the  constant  revolution  of  birth  and  death 
which  goes  on  forever  until  the  knowledge  of  the  true  law  or  the  true 
doctrine  of  Buddha  enables  a  man  to  free  himself  from  sa/wsara,  and 
to  enter  into  Nirvcina.     See  Parable  xix.  p.  124. 


212  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

he  will  perceive  the  truth  as  little  as  a  spoon  perceives 
the  taste  of  soup. 

If  an  intelligent  man  be  associated  for  one  minute 
only  with  a  wise  man,  he  will  soon  perceive  the  truth, 
as  the  tongue  perceives  the  taste  of  soup. 


Fools  of  little  understanding  have  themselves  for 
their  greatest  enemies,  for  they  do  evil  deeds  which 
must  bear  bitter  fruits. 

67. 

That  deed  is  not  well  done  of  which  a  man  must  re- 
pent, and  the  reward  of  which  he  receives  crying  and 
with  a  tearful  face. 

68. 

No,  that  deed  is  well  done  of  which  a  man  does  not 
repent,  and  the  reward  of  which  he  receives  gladly 
and  cheerfully. 

69. 

As  long  as  the  evil  deed  done  does  not  bear  fruit, 
the  fool  thinks  it  is  like  honey ;  but  when  it  ripens, 
then  the  fool  suffers  grief. 

70. 
Let  a  fool  month  after  month  eat  his  food  (like  an 
ascetic)  with  the  tip  of  a  blade  of  Kusa  grass,  yet  is  he 
not  worth  the   sixteenth   particle  of  those   who  have 
well  weighed  the  law. 

(70.)  The  commentator  clearly  takes  "samkhata"  in  the  sense  of 
"  sawkhyata,"  not  of  "  sawiskrita,"  for  he  explains  it  by  "  natadhamma 
tuHtadhamm.i."  The  eating  with  the  tip  of  Kusa-grass  has  reference 
to  the  fastings  performed  by  the  Brahmans,  but  disapproved  of,  ex- 
cept as  a  moderate  discipline,  by  the  followers  of  Buddha.  This  verse 
seems  to  interrupt  the  continuity  of  the  other  verses  which  treat  of  the 


OR  "  PATH  OF  VIRTUE."  218 

71. 

An  evil  deed  does  not  turn  suddenly,  like  milk ; 
smouldering  it  follows  the  fool,  like  fire  covered  by 
ashes. 

72. 

And  when  the  evil  deed,  after  it  has  become  known, 
brint^s  sorrow  to  tiie  fool,  then  it  destroys  his  bright 
lot,  nay  it  cleaves  his  head. 

73. 
Let  the  fool  wish  for  a  false  reputation,  for  prece- 
dence among  the   Bhikshus,  for  lordship  in   the  con- 
vents, for  worship  among  other  people  ! 

74. 
"  May  both  tlie  layman  and  he  who  has  left  the 
world  tiiiiik  that  this  is  done  by  me  ;  may  tliey  be  sub- 
ject to  me  in  everything  which  is  to  be  done  or  is  not 
to  be  done ;  "  thus  is  the  mind  of  the  fool,  and  his  de- 
sire and  pride  increase. 

75. 

"  One  is  the  road  that  leads  to  wealth,  another  the 

reward  of  evil  deeds,  or  of  the  slow  but  sure  ripening  of  every  sinful 
act. 

(71.)  I  am  not  at  all  certain  of  the  simile,  unless  "  muH-ati,"  as 
applied  to  milk,  can  be  used  in  the  sense  of  changing  or  turning  sour. 
In  Manu,  iv.  172,  where  a  similar  sentence  occurs,  the  commentators 
are  equally  doubtful :  Nadharmas^arito  loke  sadynh  phalati  gaur  iva, 

for  an  evil  act  committed  in  the  world  does  not  bear  fruit  at  once, 

like  a  cow  ;  or  like  the  earth  (in  due  season). 

(72.)  I  take  "  nattam  "  for  "  vnapitam,"  the  causative  of  "  //natam," 
for  which  in  Sanskrit,  too,  we  have  the  form  without  i,  "  //naptam." 
This  "^naptam,"  made  known,  revealed,  stands  in  opposition  to  the 
"  Manna,"  covered,  hid,  of  the  preceding  verse.  "  Sukka/«sa,"  which 
Fausboll  explains  by  "suklansa,"  has  probably  a  more  technical  and 
special  meaning. 


214  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

road  that  leads  to  Nirv^wa  ; "  if  tlie  Bliikshu,  the  dis- 
ciple of  Buddha,  has  learnt  this,  he  will  not  yearn  for 
honor,  he  will  strive  after  separation  from  the  world. 

(75.)  "Viveka,"  which  in  Sanskrit  means  chiefly  understanding, 
has  with  the  Buddhists  the  more  technical  meaning  of  separation, 
whether  separation  from  the  world  and  retirement  to  the  solitude  of 
the  forest  (kiya  viveka),  or  separation  from  idle  thoughts  (ytitta  vi- 
veka),  or  the  highest  separation  and  freedom  (Nirvana). 


OR  "  PATH  OF  VIKTUE."  215 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE   WISE    MAN. 

76. 

IF  you  see  an  intelHo;ent  man  who  tells  you  where 
true  treasures  are  to  be  found,  who  sliows  what  is 
to  be  avoided,  and  who  administers  reproofs,  follow  that 
wise  man;  it  will  be  better,  not  worse,  for  those  who 
follow  him. 

77. 
Let  him  admonish,  let  him  command,  let  him  hold 
back  from  what  is  improper!  —  he  will  be  beloved  of 
the  good,  by  the  bad  he  will  be  hated. 

78. 
Do  not  have  evil-doers  for  friends,  do  not  have  low 
people :    have    virtuous   people    for   friends,  have    for 
friends  the  best  of  men. 

79. 
He  who  drinks  in  the  Law  lives  happily  with  a  se- 
rene mind  :  the   sage  rejoices  always  in  the  Law,  as 
preached  by  the  elect. 

(78.)  It  is  hardly  possible  to  take  "  mitte  kalyane  "  in  the  technical 
sense  of  "  kalyana-mitra,  "  ein  geistlicher  Rath,"  a  spiritual  guide. 
Bumouf  (/n<ro"(/.  p.  284)  shows  that  in  the  technical  sense  "  kaly&na- 
mitra  "  was  widely  spread  in  the  Buddhist  world. 

(79.)  The  commentator  clearly  derives  "piti"  from"  pa,"  to 
drink;  if  it  were  derived  from  "pri,"  as  Professor  Weber  seems  to 


216  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

80. 
Well-makers  lead  the  water  (wherever  they  like)  ; 
fletchers  bend  the  arrow  ;  carpenters    bend  a  log  of 
wood ;  wise  people  fashion  themselves. 

81. 

As  a  solid  rock  is  not   shaken    by  the  wind,  wise 
people  falter  not  amidst  blame  and  praise. 

82. 
Wise  people,  after  they  have  listened  to  the  laws, 
become  serene,  like  a  deep,  smooth,  and  still  lake. 

^   88. 
Good  people  walk  on  whatever  befall,  the  good  do 
not  murmur,  longing  for  pleasure  ;  whether  touched  by 
happiness  or  sorrow  wise  people  never  appear  elated  or 
depressed. 

suppose,  we  should  expect  a  double  p.  "  Ariya,"  elect,  venerable,  is 
explained  by  the  commentator  as  referring  to  Buddha  and  other  teach- 
ers. 

(80.)  See  verse  33,  and  145,  the  latter  being  a  mere  repetition  of  our 
verse.  The  "  nettikas,"  to  judge  from  the  commentary  and  from  the 
general  purport  of  the  verse,  are  not  simply  water-carriers,  but  build- 
ers of  canals  and  aqueducts,  who  force  the  water  to  go  where  it  would 
not  go  l)y  itself. 

(83.)  The  first  line  is  very  doubtful.  I  have  adopted,  in  my  transla- 
tion, a  suggestion  of  Mr.  Childers,  who  writes,  "  I  think  it  will  be 
necessary  to  take  "  sabbattha  "  in  the  sense  of  "  everywhere,"  or  "un- 
der every  condition  ;  "  "  panA:akhandadibhedesu,  sabbadhammesu," 
says  Buddhaghosha.  I  do  not  think  we  need  assume  that  B.  means 
the  word  "  vii/ahanti  "  to  be  a  synonym  of  "  vaganti."  I  would  rather 
take  the  whole  sentence  together  as  a  gloss  upon  the  word  "  va^-anti :  " 
"va^'antiti  arahattanancna  apakarfc/Aanta  ArAandaragam  vir/ahanti;" 
"va(7anti"  means  that,  ridding  themselves  of  lust  by  the  wisdom 
which  Arhat-ship  confers,  they  cast  it  away."  I  am  inclined  to  think 
the  line  means  "  the  righteous  walk  on  (unmoved)  in  all  the  condi- 
tions of  life."     "  Ninda,  pasawsa,  sukha/w,  dukkha^7J,"  are  four  of  the 


OR   "  PATH   OF   VIRTUE."  217 

84. 
If,  whether  for  liis  own  sake,  or  for  the  sake  of  oth- 
ers, a  man  wislies  neither  for  a  son,  nor  for  weahh,  nor 
for  lordsliij),  and  if  lie  does  not  wish  for  his  own  suc- 
cess by  unfair  means,  then  he  is  good,  wise,  and  vir- 
tuous. 

85. 
Few  are  there  amon<T  men  vvho  arrive  at  the  other 
shore  ;  the  other    people    here  run  up  and  down  the 

shore. 

86. 

But  those  who,  wlien  the  Law  has  been  well 
preached  to  them,  follow  the  Law,  will  pass  across  the 
dominion  of  death,  however  difficult  to  overcome. 

87,  88. 
A  wise  man  sliould  leave  the  dark  state  (of  ordinary 
life),  and  follow  the  bri^rht  state  (of  the  Bhikshu). 
After  croinor  from  his  home  to  a  homeless  state,  he 
should  in  his  retirement  h)ok  for  enjoyment  where 
there  seemed  to  be  no  enjoyment.  Leavinoj  all  pleas- 
ures behind,  and  calling  nothing  his  own,  the  wise  man 
should  tree  himself  from  all  the  troubles  of  the  mind. 

eight  lokadhammas,  or  earthly  conditions  ;  the  remaining  lokadham- 
mas  are  "  labha,  alabha,  yasa,  ayasa." 

In  V.  245,  "  passata,"  by  a  man  who  sees,  means,  by  a  man  who  sees 
clearly  or  truly.  In  the  same  manner  "  vra^  "  and  "  pravra^  "  may 
mean,  not  simply  to  walk,  but  to  walk  properly. 

(86.)  "The  other  shore"  is  meant  for  Nirvana,  "this  shore  "for 
common  life.  On  reaching  Nirvana,  the  dominion  of  death  is  over- 
come. The  commentator  supplies  "  taritva,"  having  crossed,  in  order 
to  explain  the  accusative  "  maH-udheyyam."  Possibly  "  param  es- 
santi "  should  here  be  taken  as  one  word,  in  the  sense  of  overcoming. 

(87,  88.)  Leaving  one's  home  is  the  same  as  joining  the  clergy,  or 
becoming  a  mendicant,  without  a  home  or  family,  an  "  anagara,"  or 
anchoiite.     A  man  in  that  state  of  "  viveka,"  or  retirement  (see  v.  75, 


218  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

89. 
Those  whose  mind  is  well  grounded  in  the  elements 
of  knowledge,  who  have  given  up  all  attachments,  and 
rejoice  without  clinging  to  anything,  those  whose  frail- 
ties have  been  conquered,  and  who  are  full  of  light,  are 
free  (even)  in  this  world. 

note),  sees,  that  where  before  there  seemed  to  be  no  pleasure  there  real 
pleasure  is  to  be  found,  or  vice  versa.  A  similar  idea  is  expressed  in. 
verse  99.  See  Burnouf,  Lotus,  p.  474,  where  he  speaks  of  "  Le  plaisir 
de  la  satisfaction,  ne  de  la  distinction." 

The  five  troubles  or  evils  of  the  mind  are  passion,  anger,  ignorance, 
arrogance,  pride.  See  Burnouf,  Lotus,  p.  360,  and  p.  443.  As  to 
"  pariyodapeyya,"  see  verse  183,  and  Lotus,  pp.  523,  528 ;  as  to  "  aJcim- 
^ano,"  see  Mahdbh.  xii.  65fi8  ;  1240. 

(89.)  The  elements  of  knowledge  are  the  seven  "  Sambodhyangas," 
on  which  see  Burnouf,  Lotus,  p.  796.  Khinasava,  which  I  have  trans- 
lated by,  they  whose  frailties  have  been  conquered,  may  also  be  taken 
in  a  more  metaphysical  sense,  as  explained  in  the  note  to  v,  39.  The 
same  applies  to  the  other  terms  occurring  in  this  verse,  such  as  "  ad- 
ana,  anupadaya,"  etc.  Dr.  Fausboll  seems  inclined  to  take"asava" 
in  this  passage,  and  in  the  other  passages  where  it  occurs,  as  the  Pali 
representative  of  "  asraya."  But  "  asraya,"  in  Buddhist  phraseology, 
means  ra'her  the  five  organs  of  sense  with  "manas,"  the  soul,  and 
these  are  kept  distinct  from  the  "  asavas,"  the  inclinations,  the  frail- 
ties, passions,  or  vices.  The  commentary  on  the  Abhidharma,  when 
speaking  of  the  YogaHras,  says,  "  En  re'unissant  ensemble  les  recep- 
tacles (asraya),  les  choses  revues  (asrita)  et  les  supports  (alanibana), 
qui  sont  chacun  compose's  de  six  termes,  on  a  dix-huit  termos  qu'on 
appelle  -'Dhatus'  ou  contenants.  La  collection  des  six  re'ceptacles, 
ce  sont  les  organes  de  la  vue,  de  I'ouie,  de  I'odorat,  du  gout,  du  tou- 
cher, et  le  "  manas  "  (ou  I'organe  du  coeur),  qui  est  le  dernier.  La  col- 
lection des  six  choses  'repues,  c'est  la  connaissance  produite  par  la  vue 
et  par  les  autres  sens  jusqu'au  'manas'  inclusivement.  La  collec- 
tion des  six  supports,  ce  sont  la  forme  et  les  autres  attributs  sensibles 
jusqu'au  'Dharma'  (la  loi  ou  I'etrej  inclusivement."  See  Burnouf, 
Introduction,  p.  449. 

"  Parinibbuta"  is  again  a  technical  term,  the  Sanskrit  "parinivrita" 
meaning,  freed  from  all  worldly  fetters,  like  "  vimukta."  See  Bur- 
nouf, Introduction,  p.  590. 


OR  "PATH   OF   VIRTUE."  219 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE   VENERABLE. 
90. 

THERE  is  no  suffering  for  him  who  has  finished  his 
journey,  and  abandoned  grief,  who  has  freed  him- 
self on  all  sides,  and  thrown  off  all  fetters. 

91. 
They  depart  with  their  thoughts  well  collected,  they 
are  not  happy  in   their  abode  ;  like  swans  who  have 
left  their  lake,  they  leave  their  house  and  home. 


They  who  have  no  riches,  who  live  on  authorized 
food,  who  have  perceived  the  Void,  the  Unconditioned, 
the  Absolute,  their  way  is  difficult  to  understand,  like 
that  of  birds  in  the  ether. 

(91.)  "  Satimanto,"  Sansk.  "  smritimantaA,"  possessed  of  memory, 
but  here  used  in  the  technical  sense  of  "  sati,"  the  first  of  the  Bodh- 
yarigas.  See  Burnouf,  Introduction,  p.  797.  Clough  translates  it  by 
intense  thought,  and  this  is  the  original  meaning  of  "  smar/'  even 
in  Sanskrit.     See  Lectures  on  the  Science  of  Language,  vol.  ii.  p.  332. 

Uyyun(/anti  which  Buddhaghosha  explains  by  "  they  exert  them- 
selves," seems  to  me  to  signify  in  this  place  "  they  depart,"  i.  e.,  they 
leave  their  family,  and  embrace  an  ascetic  life.  See  note  to  verse 
235. 

(92.)  "Sunfiato"  (or-tS),  "animitto,"  and  "  vimokho  "  are  three 
different  aspects  of  Nirvana.  See  Burnouf,  Introd.  pp.  442,  462,  on 
sunya.    Nimitta  is  cause   in   the  most   general   sense,  what  causes 


220  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

93. 
He  whose  passions  are  stilled,  who  is  not  absorbed 
in  enjoyment,  who  has  perceived  the  Void,  the  Uncon- 
ditioned, the  Absolute,  his  path  is  difficult  to  under- 
stand, like  that  of  the  birds  in  the  ether. 

94. 
The  gods  even  envy  him  whose  senses  have  been 
subdued,  like  horses  well  broken  in  by  the  driver,  who 
is  free  from  pride,  and  free  from  frailty. 

95. 
Such  a  one  who  does  his  duty  is  tolerant  like  the 
earth,  like  Indra's  bolt ;  he  is  like  a  lake  without  mud; 
no  new  births  are  in  store  for  him. 

existence  to  continue.  The  commentator  explains  it  chiefly  in  a 
moral  sense:  " raigadinimittabhavena  animitta/n,  tehi  hi  vimuttan  ti 
animitto  vimokho,"  i.  e.  "  owing  to  the  absence  of  passion  and  other 
causes,  without  causation  ;  because  freed  from  these  causes,  therefore 
it  is  called  freedom  without  causation." 

The  simile  is  intended  to  compare  the  ways  of  those  who  have 
obtained  spiritual  freedom  to  the  flight  of  birds,  it  being  difficult  to 
understand  how  the  birds  move  on  without  putting  their  feet  on  any- 
thing. This,  at  least,  is  the  explanation  of  the  commentator.  The 
same  metaphor  occurs  Mahdbh.  xii.  6763.  "Gok&ra,"  which  has  also 
the  meaning  of  food,  forms  a  good  opposition  to  "  bho^rana," 

(9.5.)  Without  the  hints  given  by  the  commentator,  we  should  prob- 
ably take  the  three  similes  of  this  verse  in  their  natural  sense,  as 
illustrating  the  imperturbable  state  of  an  Arahanta,  or  venerable 
person.  The  earth  is  always  represented  as  an  emblem  of  patience; 
the  bolt  of  Indra,  if  taken  in  its  technical  sense,  as  the  bolt  of  a 
gate,  might  likewise  suggest  the  idea  of  firmness ;  while  the  lake  is 
a  constant  representative  of  serenity  and  purity.  The  commentator, 
however,  suggests  that  what  is  meant  is,  that  the  earth,  though 
flowers  are  cast  on  it,  does  not  feel  pleasure,  nor  the  bolt  of  Indra 
displeasure,  although  less  savory  things  are  thrown  upon  it,  and 
that  in  like  manner  a  wise  person  is  indifferent  to  honor  or  dis- 
honor 


221 

96. 
His  thought  is  quiet,  quiet  are  his  word  and  deed, 
when  he  has  obtained   freedom    by  true  knowledge, 
when  he  has  thus  become  a  quiet  man. 

9T. 
The  man  who  is  free  from  credulity,  but  knows  the 
Uncreated,  who  has  cut  all  ties,  removed  all   temp- 

(96.)  That  this  very  natural  threefold  division,  thought,  word,  and 
deed,  the  "  trividha  dvSra"  or  the  three  doors  of  the  Buddhists 
(Hardy,  Manual,  p.  494),  was  not  peculiar  to  the  Buddhists  or  un- 
known to  the  Brahmans,  has  been  proved  against  Dr.  Weber  by  Pro- 
fessor Koppen  in  his  Religion  des  Buddha,  vol.  i.  p.  445-  He  partic- 
ularly called  attention  to  Manu,  xii.  4-8  ;  and  he  might  have  added 
Mahabh.  xii.  40.59,  6512,  6549,  6554;  xiii.  5677,  etc.  Dr.  Weber  has 
himself  afterwards  brought  forward  a  passage  from  the  A^harva- 
veda,  vi.  96,  3  ("  ya^  ^ashusha  manasa  ysJc  ka.  ySik&  uparima  ")  which, 
however,  has  a  different  meaning.  A  better  one  was  quoted  by  him 
from  the  Taitt,  Ar.  x.  1,  12  (yan  me  manasa,  vaA:a,  karmana  va  dush- 
kntam  kr/tara).  Similar  expressions  have  been  shown  to  exist  in  the 
Zendavesta,  and  among  the  Manichaeans  (Lassen,  Indische  Alterthums- 
kunde,  vol.  iii.  p.  414  ;  see  also  Boehtlingk's  Dictionary,  s.  v.  kaya). 
There  was  no  ground,  therefore,  for  supposing  that  this  formula  had 
found  its  way  into  the  Christian  Liturgy  from  Persia,  for  as  Professor 
Cowell  remarks,  Greek  writers,  such  as  Plato,  employ  very  similar 
expressions,  e.  g.  Protng.  p.  348,  30,  Trpof  uTvav  epyov  koL  "Koyov  koZ 
diavorjfia.  In  fact,  the  opposition  between  words  and  deeds  occurs 
in  almost  every  writer,  from  Homer  downwards ;  and  the  further 
distinction  between  thoughts  and  words  is  clearly  implied  in  such 
expressions  as,  "  they  say  in  their  heart."  That  the  idea  of  sin  com- 
mitted by  thought  was  not  a  new  idea,  even  to  the  Jews,  may  be 
seen  from  Prov.  xxiv.  9,  "the  thought  of  foolishness  is  sin."  In  the 
Apastamba-slitras,  lately  edited  by  Professor  Biihler,  we  find  the  ex- 
pression, "  atho  yatkim^a  manasa  vaka  Arakshusha  va  sa?«kalpayam 
dhyayaty  ahabhi  vipasyati  va  tathaiva  tad  bhavatityupadisanti;  "  They 
say  that  whatever  a  Brahman  intending  with  his  mind,  voice,  or  eye, 
thinks,  says,  or  looks,  that  will  be.  This  is  clearly  a  very  different 
division,  and  it  is  the  same  which  is  intended  in  the  passage  from 
the  Atharva-veda,  quoted  above.  In  the  mischief  done  by  the  eye, 
we  have  the  first  indication  of  the  evil  eye.  Mahabh.  xii.  3417. 
See  Dhammapada,  vv.  231-234. 


222  Buddha's  dhammapada, 

tations,  renounced   all   desires,  he  is  the  greatest  of 
men. 

98. 

In  a  hamlet  or  in  a  forest,  in  the  deep  water  or  on 
the  dry  land,  wherever  venerable  persons  (Arahanta) 
dwell,  that  place  is  delightful. 

99. 

Forests  are  delightful ;  where  the  world  finds  no 
delight,  there  the  passionless  will  find  delight,  for  they 
look  not  for  pleasures. 


OB   "  PATH   OF  VIRTUE."  223 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE    THOUSANDS. 
100. 

EVEN  though  a  speecli  be  a  thousand  (of  words), 
but  made  up  of  senseless  words,  one  word  of  sense 
is  better,  vvhich  if  a  man  hears,  he  becomes  quiet. 

101. 
Even  though  a  Gatha  (poem)  be  a  thousand  (of 
words),  but  made  up  of  senseless  words,  one  word  of  a 
Gatha  is  better,  which  if  a  man  hears,  he  becomes  quiet. 

102. 
Though  a  man  recite  a  hundred  Gathas  made  up  of 
senseless  words,  one  word  of  the  Law  is  better,  which 
if  a  man  hears,  he  becomes  quiet. 

103. 
If  one  man  conquer  in  battle  a  thousand  times  thou- 
sand men,  and  if  another  conquer  himself,  he  is  the 
greatest  of  conquerors. 

104,  105. 
One's  own  self  conquered  is  better  than  all  other 
people  ;  not  even  a  god,  a  Gandharva,  not  Mara  with 

(100.)  "  YhkA  "  is  to  be  taken  as  a  nom.  sing,  fern.,  instead  of  the 
Sk.  "  vak." 


224  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

Brahman  could  change  into  defeat  the  victory  of  a 
man  who  has  vanquished  himself,  and  always  lives 
under  restraint, 

106. 

If  a  man  for  a  hundred  years  sacrifice  month  after 
montli  with  a  tliousand,  and  if  he  but  for  one  moment 
pay  homage  to  a  man  whose  soul  is  grounded  (in  true 
knowledge),  better  is  that  homage  than  a  sacrifice  for 
a  hundred  years. 

107. 

If  a  man  for  a  hundred  years  worship  Agni  (fire)  in 
the  forest,  and  if  he  but  for  one  moment  pay  liomage 
to  a  man  wliose  soul  is  grounded  (in  true  knowledge), 
better  is  that  homage  than  sacrifice  for  a  hundred 
years. 

n04.)  "  G^itam,"  according  to  the  commentator,  stands  for  ^dto 
(lingavipallaso,  i.  e.  vipary^sa)  ;  **  have  "  is  an  interjection. 

The  Devas  (gods),  Gandharvas  (fairies),  and  other  fanciful  beings 
of  the  Brahmanic  religion,  such  as  the  Nagas,  Sarpas,  Garu</as,  etc., 
were  allowed  to  continue  in  the  traditional  language  of  the  people 
who  had  embraced  Buddhism.  See  the  pertinent  remarks  of  Bur- 
nouf,  Introduction,  p.  134  seq.,  184.  On  Mara,  the  tempter,  see  v.  7. 
Sastram  Aiyar,  On  the  Gaina  Religion,  p.  xx.,  says:  "Moreover 
as  it  is  declared  in  the  Gaina  Vedas  that  all  the  gods  worshipped 
by  the  various  Hindu  sects,  namely,  -Siva,  Brahma,  Vish?m,  G'ana- 
pati,  Subramaniyan,  and  others,  were  devoted  adherents  of  the  above- 
mentioned  Tirthankaras,  the  G'ainas  therefore  do  not  consider  them 
as  unworthy  of  their  worship  ;  but  as  they  are  servants  of  Arugan, 
they  consider  them  to  be  deities  of  their  system,  and  accordingly 
perform  certain  pu^riis  in  honor  of  them,  and  worship  them  also." 
The  case  is  more  doubtful  with  orthodox  Buddhists.  "  Orthodox 
Buddhists,"  as  Mr.  D'Alwis  writes  {Altanagalu-vansa,  p.  55)  "  do  not 
consider  the  worship  of  the  Devas  as  being  sanctioned  by  him  who 
disclaimed  for  himself  and  all  the  Devas  any  power  over  man's  soul. 
Yet  the  Buddhists  are  everywhere  idol-worshippers.  Buddhism,  how- 
ever, acknowledges  the  existence  of  some  of  the  Hindu  deities,  and 
from  the  various  friendly  offices  which  those  Devas  are  said  to  have 
rendered  to  Gotama,  Buddhists  evince  a  respect  for  their  idols." 
See  also  Parables,  p.  162. 


OR   "PATH  OF  VIRTUE."  225 

108. 
Whatever  a  man  sacrifice  in  this  world  as  an  offer- 
ing or  as  an  oblation  for  a  whole  year  in  order  to  gain 
merit,  the  whole  of  it  is  not  worth  a  quarter ;  rever- 
ence shown  to  the  righteous  is  better. 

109. 
He  who  always  greets  and  constantly  reveres  the 
aged,  four  things  will  increase  to   him,  namely  life, 
beauty,  happiness,  power. 

110. 
But  he  who  lives  a  hundred  years,  vicious  and  un- 
restrained, a  life  of  one  day  is  better  if  a  man  is  vir- 
tuous and  reflecting. 

111. 

And  he  who  lives  a  hundred  years,  ignorant  and 
unrestrained,  a  life  of  one  day  is  better,  if  a  man  is 
wise  and  reflecting. 

112. 

And  he  who  lives  a  hundred  years,  idle  and  weak, 
a  life  of  one  day  is  better,  if  a  man  has  attained  firm 
strength. 

(109.)  Dr.  Fausboll,  in  a  most  important  note,  called  attention  to 
the  fact  that  the  same  verse,  with  slight  variations,  occurs  in  Manu. 
We  there  read,  ii.  121  :  — 

Abhivadana^ilaya  nityam  vriddhopasevinaA, 
Xatvari  sampravardhante  :  slyur  vidyi  yajo  balam. 

Here  the  four  things  are,  life,  knowledge,  glory,  power. 

In  the  Apastamba-sutras,  1,  2,  15,  the  reward  promised  for  the 
same  virtue  is  "  svargam  Ayus  ^a,"  heaven  and  long  life.  It  seems, 
therefore,  as  if  the  original  idea  of  this  verse  came  from  the  Brah- 
mans,  and  was  afterwards  adopted  by  the  Buddhists.  How  largely 
it  spread  is  shown  by  Dr.  Fausboll  from  the  Asiatic  Researches,  vol. 
XX.  p.  259,  where  the  same  verse  of  the  Dhammapada  is  mentioned 
as  being  in  use  among  the  Buddhists  of  Siam. 

(112.)  On  "kusito"  and  "  hinaviriyo,"  see  note  to  v.  7. 
15 


226  BUDDHA'S   DHAMMAPADA, 

113. 
And  he  who  lives  a  hundred  years,  not  seeing  be- 
ginning and  end,  a  life  of  one  day  is  better  if  a  man 
sees  beginning  and  end. 

114. 

And  he  who  lives  a  hundred  years,  not  seeing  the 
immortal  place,  a  life  of  one  day  is  better  if  a  man 
sees  the  immortal  place. 

115. 

And  he  who  lives  a  hundred  years,  not  seeing  the 
highest  law,  a  life  of  one  day  is  better,  if  a  man  sees 
the  highest  law. 


OE  "PATH  OF  VIRTUE."  227 


CHAPTER  IX. 

EVIL. 

116. 

IF  a  man  would  hasten  towards  the  good,  he  should 
keep   his  thouf^lit  away  from  evil ;    if  a  man  does 
what  is  good  slothfully,  his  mind  delights  in  evil. 

117. 
If  a  man   commits  a  sin,  let  him  not  do  it  again; 
let  him  not  delight  in  sin  ;  pain  is  the  outcome  of  evil. 

118. 
If  a  man  does  what  is  good,  let  him  do  it  again  ;  let 
him  delight  in  it :  happiness  is  the  outcome  of  good. 

119. 
Even  an  evil-doer  sees  happiness  as  long  as  his  evil 
deed  has  not  ripened ;  but  when  his  evil  deed  has  ri- 
pened, then  does  the  evil-doer  see  evil. 

120. 

Even  a  good  man  sees  evil  days,  as  long  as  his  good 
deed  has  not  ripened  ;  but  when  his  good  deed  has  ri- 
pened, then  does  the  good  man  see  happy  days. 

121. 

Let  no  man  think  lightly  of  evil,  saying  in  his  heart, 
It  will  not  come  near  unto  me.     Even  by  the  falling 


228  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

of  water-drops  a  water-pot  is  filled  ;  the  fool  becomes 
full  of  evil,  even  if  he  gathers  it  little  by  little, 

122. 
Let  no  man  think  lightly  of  good,  saying   in  his 
heart.  It  will  not  benefit  rae.     Even  by  the  falling  of 
water-drops  a  water-pot  is  filled  ;  tlie  wise  man  be- 
comes full  of  good,  even  if  he  gather  it  little  by  little. 

123. 
Let  a  man  avoid  evil  deeds,  as  a  merchant  if  he  has 
few  companions  and  carries  much  wealth  avoids  a  dan- 
gerous road ;  as  a  man  who  loves  life  avoids  poison. 

124. 
He  who  has  no  wound  on  his  hand,  may  touch  poi- 
son with  his  hand ;  poison  does  not  affect  one  who  has 
no  wound  ;  nor  is  there  evil  for  one  who  does  not  com- 
mit evil. 

125. 

If  a  man  offend  a  harmless,  pnre,  and  innocent  per- 
son, the  evil  falls  back  upon  that  fool,  like  light  dust 
thrown  up  against  the  wind. 

126. 
Some  people  are  born  again  ;  evil-doers  go  to  hell  ; 
righteous  people  go  to  heaven  ;  those  who  are  free  from 
all  worldly  desires  enter  Nirva/ia. 

(124  )  This  verse,  taken  in  connection  with  what  precedes,  can  only 
mean  that  no  one  suffers  evil  but  he  who  has  committed  evil,  or 
sin  ;  an  idea  the  very  opposite  of  that  pronounced  in  Luke  xiii.  1-5. 

(125.)  Cf.  Indische  Spriiche,  1582;  Kathasaritsajrara,  49,  222. 

(126.)  For  a  description  of  hell  and  its  lon<^,  yet  not  endless 
sufferings,  see  Parables,  p.  132.  The  pleasures  of  heaven,  too,  are 
frequently  described  in  these  Parables  and  elsewhere.     Buddha,  him- 


OR   "  PATH   OF   VIRTUE."  229 

127. 
Not  in  the  sky,  not  in  the  midst  of  the  sea,  not  if 
we   enter   into  the   clefts  of   the  mountains,  is  there 
known  a  spot  in  the  wliole  world  where  a  man  might 
be  freed  from  an  evil  deed. 

128. 
Not  in  the  skv,  not  in  the  midst  of  the  sea,  not  if 
we   enter  into  the   clefts    of  the  mountains,  is  there 
known  a  spot  in   the  whole  world  where  death  could 
not  overcome  (the  mortal). 

self,  enjoyed  these  pleasures  of  heaven,  before  he  was  bom  for  the 
last  time.  It  is  probably  when  good  and  evil  deeds  are  equally 
balanced,  that  men  are  born  again  as  human  beings  ;  this,  at  least, 
is  the  opinion  of  the  G'ainas.  Cf.  Chintdmani,  ed.  H.  Bower,  Introd. 
p.  XV. 


230  BUDDHA'S  DH.4MMAPADA, 


CHAPTER  X. 

PUNISHMENT. 
129. 

ALL   men   tremble   at   punisliment,  all    men   fear 
death  ;  remember  that  you  are  like  unto  them, 
and  do  not  kill  nor  cause  slaughter. 

130. 
All  men  tremble  at  punishment,  all  men  love  life; 
remember  that  thou  art  like  unto  them,  and  do  not 
kill,  nor  cause  slaughter. 

131. 

He  who  for  his  own  sake  punishes  or  kills  beings 

longing  for  happiness,  will    not    find    happiness   after 

death. 

(129.)  One  feels  tempted,  no  doubt,  to  take  "upama"  in  the  sense 
of  the  nearest  (der  Nachste),  the  neighbor,  and  to  translate,  having 
made  oneself  one's  ncighboi',  L  e.  "  loving  one's  neighbor  as  oneself." 
But  as  "  upamam,"  with  a  short  a,  is  the  correct  accusative  of  "  upa- 
raa,"  we  must  translate  "  having  made  oneself  the  likeness,  the  image  of 
others,"  "  having  placed  oneself  in  the  place  of  others."  This  is  an 
expression  which  occurs  frequently  in  Sanskrit  (cf  Hito])adesa,  i.  11). 
Prana  yathatmano  sbhish/a  bhOtanam  api  te  tatha, 
Atmaupam^ena  bhQteshu  daya»i  kurvanti  sadhavaA. 

"As  life  is  dear  to  oneself,  it  is  dear  also  to  other  living  beings  :  by- 
comparing  oneself  with  others,  good  people  bestow  pity  on  all  beings." 

See  also  Hit.  i.  12 ;  Ram.  v.  23,  5,  "  atmanam  upamam  kritva  sveshu 
dareshu  ramyatam,"  "  Making  oneself  a  likeness,  i.  e.,  putting  oneself 
in  the  position  of  other  people,  it  is  right  to  love  none  but  one's  own 
wife."  Dr.  Fausbiill  has  called  attention  to  similar  passages  in  the 
Mahal >hdrata,  xiii.  5569  seq. 

(131.)  Dr.  Fausboll  points  out  the  striking  similarity  between  this 
verse  and  two  verses  occurring  in  Mann  and  the  Mahibhamta  :  — 


OR  "PATH   OF  VIRTUE."  231 

132. 
He  who  for  his  own  sake  does  not  pnnisli  or  kill 
beings  longing  for  happiness,  will  find  happiness  after 
death. 

133. 

Do  not  speak  harslily  to  anybody  ;  those  who  are 
spoken  to  will  answer  thee  in  the  same  way.  Angry 
speech  is  painfiil,  blows  for  blows  will  touch  thee. 

134. 
IF,  like  a  trumpet   trampled  under  foot,  thou  utter 
not,  then  thou  hast  reached  Nirvawa  ;    anger   is   not 
known  in  thee. 

135. 
As  a  cowherd  with  his  staff  gathers  his  cows  into 
the    stable,  so  do  Ao;e  and  Death  gather  the  life  of 
man. 

136. 

A  fool  does  not  know  when  he  commits  his  evil 
deeds  :  but  the  wicked  man  burns  by  his  own  deeds, 
as  if  burnt  by  fire. 

Manu,  V.  45  :  — 

Yo  shiwsakani  bhOtSni  hinaaty  atmasukhe^iAayS 
Sa  gi\a.ms  ka.  mritas  Aaiya  na  kv&kit  sukham  edhate. 

Mahdbh.  xiii.  5568  :  — 

Ahiwsakani  bhQta"i  dati'/ena  vinihanti  yaA 

Atmana/(  sukhara  ikkfia,n  sa  pret^a  naiva  sukhi  bhavet. 

If  it  were  not  for  "  ahi/nsakani,"  in  which  Manu  and  the  Mah'ihh&rata 
agree,  I  should  say  that  the  verses  in  both  were  Sanskrit  modifications 
of  the  Pali  orij^inal.  The  verse  in  the  Mahabharata  presupposes  the 
verse  of  the  Dhanimapada. 

(133.)   See  Mahabharata,  xii.  4056. 

(136.)  The  metaphor  of"  burning  "  for  "  suffering  "  is  very  common 
in  Buddhist  literature.  Everything  burns,  i.  e.,  "  everything  suffers/* 
was  one  of  the  first  experiences  of  Buddha  himself.     See  v.  146. 


232  Buddha's  dhammapada, 

13T. 
He  who  inflicts  pain  on  innocent  and  harmless  per- 
sons, will  soon  come  to  one  of  these  ten  states : 

138. 
He  will   have    cruel    suffering,  loss,  injury  of  the 
body,  heavy  affliction,  or  loss  of  mind, 

139. 
Or  a  misfortune  of  the  king,  or  a  fearful  accusation, 
or  loss  of  relations,  or  destruction  of  treasures, 

140. 
Or  lightning-fire  will  burn  his  houses  ;   and  when 
his  body  is  destroyed,  the  fool  will  go  to  hell. 

141. 

Not  nakedness,  not  platted  hair,  not  dirt,  not  fast- 
ing, or  lying  on  the  eartli,  not  rubbing  with  dust,  not 
fitting  motionless,  can  purify  a  mortal  who  has  not 
overcome  desires. 

(138.)  "  Cruel  suffering  *'  is  explained  by  "  sisaroga,"  headache,  etc. 
"Loss  "  is  taken  for  loss  of  money.  "  Injury  of  the  body  "  is  held  to  be 
the  cutting  off  of  the  arm,  and  other  limbs.  "  Heavy  afflictions  "  are, 
again,  various  kinds  of  diseases. 

(139.)  *'  Misfortune  of  the  king"  may  mean,  a  misfortune  that  hap- 
pened to  the  king,  defeat  by  an  enemy,  and  therefore  conquest  of  the 
country.  "Upasarga"  means  accident,  misfortune.  Dr.  FausboU 
translates  "  ra^ato  va  upassaggam"  by  "  fulgcntis  (lunas)  defectio- 
nem  ; ''  Dr.  Weber,  by  "Bestrafung  vom  Koni;,^"  "  AbbhakkhAnam/* 
Sansk.  "  abhyakhyAnam/'  is  a  heavy  accusation  for  high  treason,  or 
similar  offenses. 

The  "  destruction  of  pleasures  or  treasures  "  is  explained  by  gold 
being  changed  to  coals  (see  Parables,  p.  98),  pearls  to  cotton-seed, 
com  to  potsherds,  and  by  men  and  cattle  becoming  blind,  lame,  etc. 

(141.)  Dr.  Fausbull  has  pointed  out  that  the  same  or  a  very  similar 
Terse  occurs  in  a  legend  taken  from  the  Divy&vadana,  and  translated 


OR   "PATH 


233 


142. 
He  who,  though  dressed  in  fine  apparel,  exercises 
tranquillity,  is  quiet,  subdued,  restrained,  chaste,  and 
has  ceased  to  find  fault  with  all  other  beings,  he  in- 
deed is  a  BralunaTia,  an  ascetic  (Abramana),  a  friar 
(bhikshu). 

by  Burnouf  (Introduction,  p.  313  spq.).  Burnouf  translates  the  verse: 
"  Ce  n'est  ni  la  coutume  de  marcher  nu,  ni  les  cheveux  natte's,  ni 
I'usa^'c  d'argile,  ni  le  choix  des  divcrses  especes  d'alinients,  ni  I'habi- 
tude  de  coiu-her  sur  la  terre  nue,  ni  la  poussiere,  ni  la  malproprete',  ni 
I'attention  a  fuir  I'abri  d'un  toit,  qui  sont  eapables  de  diss^iper  le  trouble 
dans  lequel  nous  jettent  les  de'sirs  non-satisfaits ;  mais  qu'un  homme, 
maitre  de  ses  sens,  caline,  recueilli,  chaste,  e'vitant  de  faire  du  mal  h. 
aucune  cre'ature,  accomplisse  la  Loi,  et  il  sera,  quoique  par^  d'orne- 
ments,  un  Brahmane,  un  Cramana,  un  Religieux." 

Walkinf?  naked,  and  the  other  things  mentioned  in  our  verse,  are 
outward  si4,nis  of  a  saintly  life,  and  these  Buddha  rejects  because  they 
do  not  calm  the  passions.  Nakedness  he  seons  to  have  rejected  on 
other  grounds  too,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  Sumagadha  avadana : 
"A  number  of  naked  friars  were  assembled  in  the  house  of  the  daugh- 
ter of  Anatha-pi/i^ika.  She  called  her  daughter-in-law,  Sumagadha, 
and  said, '  Go  and  see  those  highly  respectable  persons.'  Sumigadha, 
expecting  to  see  some  of  the  saints,  like  «Sariputra,  Maudgalyayana, 
and  others,  ran  out  full  of  joy.  But  when  she  saw  these  friars  with 
their  hair  like  pigeon  wings,  covered  by  nothing  but  dirt,  offensive, 
and  looking  like  demons,  she  became  sad.  '  Why  are  you  sad  ? '  said 
her  mother-in-law.  Sumagadha  replied,  '  0,  mother,  if  these  are 
saints,  what  must  sinners  be  like  1 '  " 

Burnouf  {Introduction,  p.  312)  supposed  that  the  Gainas  only,  and 
not  the  Buddhists,  allowed  nakedness.  But  the  G'ainas,  too,  do  not 
allow  it  universally.  They  are  divided  into  two  parties,  the  >Svetam- 
baras  and  Digambaras.  The  »Svetambaras,  clad  in  white,  are  the 
follo>vers  of  ParsvanStha,  and  wear  clothes.  The  Digambaras,  i.  e. 
sky-clad,  disrobed,  are  followers  of  Mahavira,  and  resident  chiefly  in 
Southern  India.  At  present  they,  too,  wear  clothing,  but  not  when 
eating.     See  Sdstram  Aiynr,  p.  xxi. 

The  "  <7a^d,"  or  the  hair  platted  and  gathered  up  in  a  knot,  was  a 
sign  of  a  -Saiva  ascetic.  The  sitting  motionless  is  one  of  the  postures 
assumed  by  ascetics.  Clough  explains  "  ukku^ika  "  as  the  act  of  sitting 
on  the  heels  ;  Wilson  gives  for  "  utkamkasana,"  "  sitting  on  the  hams." 
See  FausboU,  note  on  verse  140. 

(142.)  As  to  "  da?io?anidh&na,"  see  Mahdhh.  xii.  6559. 


234  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

143. 
Is  there  in  tliis  world  any  man  so  restrained  by  hu- 
mility that  he  does  not  mind  reproof,  as  a  well-trained 
horse  the  whip  ? 

144. 

Like  a  well-trained  horse  when  touched  by  the 
whip,  be  ye  active  and  lively,  and  by  faith,  by  virtue, 
by  energy,  by  meditation,  by  discernment  of  the  law 
you  will  overcome  this  great  pain  (of  reproof),  per- 
fect in  knowledge  and  in  behavior,  and  never  for- 
getful. 

145. 

Well-makers  lead  the  water  (wherever  they  like), 
fletcliers  bend  the  arrow  ;  carpenters  break  a  log  of 
wood  ;  wise  people  fashion  themselves. 

(143,  144.)  I  am  very  doubtful  as  to  the  real  meaning  of  these 
verses.  I  tliink  their  object  is  to  show  how  reproof  or  punishment 
should  be  borne.  I  therefore  take  "  bhadra  assa  "  in  the  sense  of  a 
well-broken  or  well-trained,  not  in  the  sense  of  a  spirited  horse. 
"Hri,"  no  doubt,  means  generally  "shame,"  but  it  also  means  "hu- 
mility," or  "  modesty."  However,  I  give  my  translation  as  conjec- 
tural only,  for  there  are  several  passages  in  the  commentary  which 
I  do  not  understand. 

(145.)  The  same  as  verse  80. 


235 


CHAPTER  XI. 

OLD    AGE. 
146. 

HOW  is  there  laugliter,  how  is  there  joy,  as  this 
world  is  always  burning  ?    Why  do  you  not  seek 
a  light,  ye  who  are  surrounded  by  darkness  ? 

147. 
Look  at  this  dressed-up  lump,  covered  with  wounds, 
joined  together,  sickly,  full  of  many  thoughts,  which 
has  no  strength,  no  hold  ! 

148. 
This  body  is  wasted,  full  of  sickness,  and  frail ;  this 
heap  of   corruption  breaks  to  pieces,  the  life  in  it  is 
death. 

149. 

Those  white  bones,  like  gourds  thrown  away  in  the 
autumn,  what  pleasure  is  there  in  looking  at  them ! 

150. 
After  a  frame   has   been    made  of  the  bones,  it  is 
covered  with  flesh  and  blood,  and  there  dwell  in  it  old 
age  and  death,  pride  and  deceit. 

(146.)  Dr.  Fausboll  translates  "  semper  exardescit  recordatio ;  "  Dr. 
Weber,  "  da's  doch  bestandig  Kummer  giebt."  The  commentator 
explains,  "  as  this  abode  is  always  lighted  by  passion  and  the  other 
fires."     Cf.  Hardy,  Manual,  p.  495. 

(150.)  The  expression  "  mamsalohitalepanam  "  is  curiously  like  the 


236  budddha's  dhammapada, 

151. 
The  brilliant  chariots  of  kings  are  destroyed,  the 
body  also  approaches  destruction,  but  the  virtues  of 
good   people   never  approach  destruction,  thus  do  the 
good  say  to  the  good. 

152. 
A  man  wlio  has  learnt  little,  grows  old  like  an  ox  ; 
his  flesh  grows,  but  his  knowledge  dues  not  grow. 

153,  154. 
Without  ceasinor  shall  I  run  throutrh  a  course  of 
many  hirths,  looking  for  the  maker  of  tliis  tabernacle, 
—  and  painful  is  birth  again  and  again.  But  now, 
maker  of  the  tabernacle,  thou  hast  been  seen  ;  thou 
shalt  not  make  up  this  tabernacle  again.  All  thy  raf- 
ters are  broken,  thy  ridge-pole  is  sundered;  the  mind, 
being  sundered,  has  attaiued  to  the  extinction  of  all 
desires. 

expression  used  in  Manu,  vi.  76,  "  mamsasowitalpanam,"  and  in 
several  passages  of  the  Mahabhdrata,  xii.  12053,  12462,  as  pointed 
out  by  Dr.  FausbiJU. 

(153,  154.)  These  two  verses  are  famous  among  Buddhists,  for 
they  are  the  words  which  the  founder  of  Buddhism  is  supposed  to 
have  uttered  at  the  moment  he  attaiued  to  Buddhahood.  See 
Spence  Hardy,  Manual,  p.  180.  According  to  the  Lalita-uistara,  the 
words  uttered  on  that  solemn  occasion  were  those  quoted  in  the 
note  to  verse  39.  Though  the  purport  of  both  is  the  same,  the 
tradition  preserved  by  the  Southern  Buddhists  shows  greater  vigor 
than  that  of  the  North. 

"  The  maker  of  the  tabernacle  "  is  explained  as  a  poetical  expres- 
sion for  the  cause  of  new  births,  at  least  according  to  the  views  of 
Buddha's  followers,  whatever  his  own  views  may  have  been.  Bud- 
dha had  conquered  Mara,  the  representative  of  worldly  temptations, 
the  father  of  worldly  desires,  and  as  desires  (tawdia)  are,  by  means 
of  "  upadana "  and  "bhava,"  the  cause  of  "^ati,"  or  birth,  the 
destruction  of  desires  and  the  defeat  of  Mara  are  really  the  same 
thing,  though  expressed  differently  in  the  philosophical  and  legendary 


OR   "  PATH  OF   VIRTUE.'*  237 

1.55. 
Men  who  have  not  observed  proper  discipline,  and 
have  not  gained  wealth  in  their  }outh,  they  perish  like 
old  herons  in  a  lake  without  fisli. 

156. 
Men  who  have  not  observed  proper  discipline,  and 
have  not  gained  wealtli  in   their  youth ;  they  lie  like 
broken  bows,  sighing  after  the  past. 

language  of  the  Buddhists.  Tanha,  thirst  or  desire,  is  mentioned 
as  serving  in  the  army  of  Mara.  Lotas,  p.  443.  There  are  some 
valuable  remarks  of  Mr.  D'Alwis  on  these  verses  in  the  Attanu- 
galuvansa,  p.  exxviii.  This  learned  scholar  points  out  a  certain  simi- 
larity in  the  metaphors  used  by  Buddha,  and  some  verses  in  Manu, 
vi.  76,  77.  See  also  Mahabh.  xii.  12463-4.  Mr.  D'Alwis'  quota- 
tion, however,  from  Pa/(ini,  iii.  2,  112,  proves  in  no  way  that  "  sand- 
havissan,"  or  any  other  future  can,  if  standing  by  itself,  be  used  in 
a  past  sense.  Pa?ani  speaks  of  "  bhutaanadyatana,"  and  he  restricts 
the  use  of  the  future  in  a  past  sense  to  cases  where  the  future  fol- 
lows verbs  expressive  of  recollection,  etc. 

(15.5.^  On  "^Aayanti,"  i.  e.  "  kshayanti,"  see  Dr.  Bollensen'a 
learned  remarks,  Zeitschrijl  der  Deutschen  Morgenl.  Gesellschajl,  xviii. 
834,  and  Boehtlingk-Roth,  s.  v.  "  ksha. 


238  Buddha's  dhammapada, 


CHAPTER  XII. 

SELF. 

157. 
TF  a  man  hold  himself  dear,  let  him  watch  himself 
-*-     carefully;  duriiio;  one   at  least  out  of  the  three 
watches  a  wise  man  should  be  watchful. 

158. 
Let  each  man  first  direct  himself  to  what  is  proper, 
then  let  him  teach  others  ;  thus  a  wise  man  will  not 
suffer. 

159. 

Let  each  man  make  himself  as  he  teaches  others  to 
be ;  he  who  is  well  subdued  may  subdue  (others^ ; 
one's  own  self  is  difficult  to  subdue. 

160. 
Self  is  the  lord  of  self,  who  else  could  be  the  lord  ? 
With  self  well- subdued,  a  man  finds  a  lord  such  as  few 
can  find. 

161. 

The  evil  done  by  oneself,  self-begotten,  self-bred, 
crushes  the  wicked,  as  a  diamond  breaks  a  precious 
stone. 


(157.)  The  three  watches   of  the   night  are  meant   for  the  three 
stages  of  life. 


OR   "  PATH  OF   VIRTUE."  2B9 

162. 
He  whose  wickedness  is  very  great  bnngs  himself 
down  to  that  state  where  his  enemy  wishes  him  to  be, 
as  a  creeper  does  with  the  tree  which  it  surrounds. 

163. 
Bad  deeds,  and  deeds  hurtful  to  ourselves,  are  easy 
to  do;  what  is  beneficial  and  good,  that  is  very  diffi- 
cult to  do. 

161. 

The  wicked  man  who  scorns  the  rule  of  the  vener- 
able (Arahat),  of  the  elect  (Ariya),  of  the  virtuous,' 
and  follows  false  doctrine,  he  bears  fruit  to  his  own 
destruction,  like  the  fruits  of  the  KsLtth-dka.  reed. 

165. 
By  oneself  the  evil  is  done,  by  oneself  one  suffers  ; 
by  oneself  evil  is  left  undone,  by  oneself  one  is  puri- 
fied.    Purity  and  impurity  belong  to  oneself,   no  one 
can  purify  another. 

166. 

Let  no  one  forset  his  own  dutv  for   the   sake  of 


& 


(164.)  The  reed  either  dies  after  it  has  borne  fruit  or  is  cut  down 
for  the  sake  of  its  fruit. 

"'D'ltthi,"  literally  view,  is  used  even  by  itself,  like  the  Greek 
"hairesis'Mn  the  sense  of  heresy  (see  Burnouf,  Lotus,  p.  444).  In 
other  places  a  distinction  is  made  between  "  mikhhiiditthi  "  (w.  167, 
316)  and  "  sammr»di«/ti  "  (v.  319).  If  "  arahatam  ariyanam"  are 
used  in  their  technical  sense,  we  should  translate  "the  reverend 
Arhats,"  —  "Arhat"  being  the  highest  degree  of  the  four  orders  of 
Ariyas,  namely,  Srotaapanna,  SakridagAmin,  Anagarain,  and  Arhat. 
See  note  to  v.  178. 

(166.)  "  Attha,"  lit.  "object,"  must  be  taken  in  a  moral  sense,  as 
"  duty  "  rather  than  as  "  advantage."  The  story  which  Buddha- 
ghosha  tells  of  the  "  Thera  Attadattha "  gives  a  clew  to  the  origin 


240  Buddha's  dhammapada, 

another's,  however  great ;  let  a  man,  after  he  has  dis- 
cerned his  own  duty,   be  always  attentive  to  his  duty. 

of  some  of  his  parables,  which  seem  to  have  been  invented  to  suit 
the  text  of  the  Dhammapada  rather  than  vice  versa.  A  similar  case 
occurs  in  the  commentary  to  verse  227. 


OB   "PATH   OF   VIBTUE."  241 


CHAPTER  Xni. 

THE    WORLD, 
167. 

T^O  not  follow  the  evil  law !  Do  not  live  on  in 
^^  thoughtlessness  I  Do  not  follow  false  doctrine! 
Be  not  a  triend  of  the  world. 

168. 
Rouse  thyself!  do  not  be  idle  !     Follow  the  law  of 
virtue  !     Tiie  virtuous  lives  happily  in  this  world  and 
in  the  next. 

169. 
Follow  the  law  of  virtue ;  do  not  follow  that  of  sin. 
The  virtuous  lives  happily  in  this  world  and  in  the 
next. 

170. 
Look  upon  the  world  as  a  bubble,  look  upon  it  as  a 
mirage ;  the  king  of  death  does  not  see  him  who  thus 
looks  down  upon  the  world. 

171. 

Come,  look  at  this  glittering  world,  like  unto  a 
royal  chariot ;  the  foolish  are  immersed  in  it,  but  the 
wise  do  not  cling  to  it. 

172. 

He  who  formerly  was  reckless  and  afterwards  be- 
came sober,  brightens  up  this  world,  like  the  moon 
when  freed  from  clouds. 

16 


242  BUDDHA'S   DHAMMAPADA, 

173. 

He   wliose    evil   deeds  are  covered  by  good  deeds, 

brit^htens  up  this  world,  like    the    moon  when    freed 

from  clouds. 

174. 

This  world  is  dark,  few  only  can  see  here;  a  few- 
only  go  to  heaven,  hke  birds  escaped  from  the  net. 

175. 

The  swans  go  on  the  path  of  the  sun,  they  go 
through  the  ether  by  ineans  of  their  miraculous 
power ;  the  wise  are  led  out  of  this  world,  when  they 
have  conc^uered  Mara  and  his  train. 

176. 
If  a  man  has  transgressed  one  law,  and  speaks  lies, 
and  scoffs  at  another  world,  there  is  no  evil  he  will 
not  do. 

177. 

The  uncharitable  do  not  go  to  the  world  of  the  gods ; 
fools  only  do  not  praise  liberality  ;  a  wise  man  rejoices 
in  liberality,  and  through  it  becomes  blessed  in  the 
other  world. 

178. 

Better  than  sovereignty  over  the  earth,  better  than 
going  to  heaven,  better  than  lordship  over  all  worlds, 
is  the  reward  of  the  first  step  in  holiness. 

(175.)  "Hamsa"  may  be  meant  for  the  bird,  whether  flamingo,  or 
swan,  or  ibis  (see  Hardy,  Manual,  p.  17),  but  it  may  also,  I  believe, 
be  taken  in  the  sense  of  saint.  As  to  "  iddhi,"  magi<;al  power,  i.  e. 
"  riddhi,"  see  Burnouf,  Lotus,  p.  310  ;  Spence  Hardy,  Manual,  pp.  498 
and  .'J04  ;  Legends,  pp.  .55,  177.     See  note  to  verse  254. 

(178.)  "  Sotftpatti,"  the  technical  term  for  the  first  step  in  the  path 
that  leads  to  Nirvana.  There  are  four  such  steps,  or  stages,  and  on 
entering  each,  a  man  receives  a  new  title  :  — 


OR    "  PATH   OF   VIRTUE."  243 

mL  I!'  l^''''''  'P^""^'"  ^''-  ^'  ^^°  ^""^  ff«*  ^"t^^  the  stream.  A 
^"!!'S^t'a^''''''  ""'"'  ^"'^'  ^''"'''  ^'  '""'^^^  '^'  other  shore, 
2.  "Sakridagamin,"  lit.  he  who  comes  back  once,  so  called  be- 
cause after  having  entered  this  stage,  a  man  is  born  inly  once  more 
among  men  or  gods.  "^uic 

.„!;."  "^f*^™.-"'"  '"■  '"  "'"'   '^'*'  "<"  ■^0""=  back,  so  called  be- 

m^t,J  '  "''■•  "  ^'''"''''  ™'W    ''«f°«  he  reaches 

4    "Arhat,"   the  venerable,    the  perfect,   who  has    reached    the 
h.ghest  stage  that  can  be  reached,  and   from  which  NirXais  per 

achmn,   p     280;    Barnouf,   Introduction,  p.  209;   Koppen,  p    398- 


:44  BUDDHA'S   DHAMMAPADA, 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE    AWAKENED    (bUDDHA). 

179. 
TTE  whose  conquest  is  not  conquered  again,  whose 
-*-^  conquest  no  one  in  this  world  escapes,  by  what 
path  can  you  lead  him,  the  Awakened,  the  Omniscient, 
into  a  wrong  path  ? 

180. 

He  whom  no  desire  with  its  snares  and  poisons  can 
lead  astray,  by  what  path  can  you  lead  him,  the  Awa- 
kened, the  Omniscient,  into  a  wrong  path  ? 

181. 
Even  the  gods  envy  those  who  are  awakened  and 
not   forgetful,  who  are  given  to  meditation,  who  are 
wise,  and  who   delight    in    the   repose    of  retirement 
(from  the  world). 

(179,  180.)  These  two  verses,  though  their  general  meaning  seems 
clear,  contain  many  difficulties  which  I  do  not  at  all  pretend  to  solve. 
"  Buddha,"  the  Awakened,  is  to  be  taken  as  an  appellative  rather  than 
as  the  proper  name  of  the  "  Buddha."  It  means,  anybody  who  has 
arrived  at  complete  knowledge.  "  Anantagoiaram"  I  take  in  the 
sense  of,  possessed  of  unlimited  knowledge.  "  Apadam,"  which  Dr. 
FaasbiiU  takes  as  an  epithet  of  Buddha  and  translates  by  non  inves- 
tigahilis,  I  take  as  an  accusative  governed  by  "  nessatha,"  and  in  the 
sense  of  wrong  place  (uppatha,  v.  309,  p.  396,  1.  2)  or  sin. 

The  second  line  of  verse  179  is  most  difficult.  The  commentator 
seems  to  take  it  in  the  sense  of  "  in  whose  conquest  nothing  is  want- 
ing," "  who  has  conquered  all  sins  and  all  passions."  In  that  case 
we  should  have  to  sui)ply  "  kileso  "  (masc.)  or  "  rago,"  or  take  "  koki" 
in  the  sense  of  any  enemy.     Of.  v.  105. 


OR  "  PATH  OF   VIRTUE."  245 

182. 
Hard  is  the  conception  of  men,  hard  is  the  life  of 
mortals,  hard  is  the  hearing  of  the  True  Law,  hard  is 
the  birth  of  the  Awakened  (the  attainment  of  Bud- 

dhahood). 

183. 

Not  to  commit  atiy  sin,  to  do  good,  and  to  purify 
one's  mind,  that  is  the  teaching  of  the  Awakened. 

184. 
The  Awakened  call  patience  the  highest  penance, 
lont>--sufferin(y  the  liio-hest  Nirvana  ;  for  he  is  not  an 

o  o  o 

anchorite  (Piavra^ita)  who  strikes  others,  he  is  not  an 
ascetic  (AS'rania/ia)  who  insults  others. 

185. 
Not  to  blame,  not  to  strike,  to  live  restrained  under 
the  law,  to  be  moderate  in  eating,  to  sleep  and    eat 

(183.)  This  verse  is  again  one  of  the  most  solemn  verses  among 
the  Buddhists.  According  to  Csoma  de  Kiiros,  it  ought  to  follow 
the  famous  Arya  stanza,  "  Ye  dhamma  "  {Lotus,  p.  522),  and  serve 
as  its  complement.  But  though  this  may  be  the  case  in  Tibet,  it 
was  not  so  originally.  Buriiouf  has  fully  discussed  the  metre  and 
meaning  of  our  verse  on  pp.  527,  528  of  his  Lotus.  He  prefers 
"  saArittaparidaraanam,"  which  Csoma  translated  by  "  the  mind  must 
be  brought  under  entire  subjection "  (svaArittaparidamanam),  and 
the  late  Dr.  Mill  by  "  proprii  intellectus  subjugatio."  But  his  own 
MS.  of  the  "Mahapadhana  sutta"  gave  likewise  "  saArittapariyodapa- 
nam,"  and  this  is  no  doubt  the  correct  reading.  See  D'Alwis,  At- 
tanugalavansa,  p.  cxxix.  We  found  "  pariyodappeya  "  in  verse  88,  in 
the  sense  of  freeing  oneself  from  the  troubles  of  thought.  The  only 
question  is  whether  the  root  "  da,"  with  the  prepositions  "  pari  "  and 
"  ava,"  should  be  taken  in  the  sense  of  cleansing  oneself  from,  or 
cutting  oneself  out  from.  I  prefer  the  former  conception,  the  same 
which  in  Buddhist  literature  has  given  rise  to  the  name  Avadana,  a 
legend,  originally  a  pure  and  virtuous  act,  and  iipiaTEia,  afterwards  a 
sacred  story,  and  possibly  a  story  the  hearing  of  which  purifies  the 
mind.     See  BoehtUngk-Roth,  s.  v.  "  avadana." 


246  Buddha's  dhammapada, 

alone,  and  to  dwell  on  the  highest  thoughts,  —  this  is 
the  teaching  of  the  Awakened. 

186. 
There  is  no  satisfying  lusts,  even  by  a  shower  of 
gold   pieces  ;    he  Avho  knows  that  lusts  have  a  short 
taste  and  cause  pain,  he  is  wise. 

187. 
Even  in  heavenly  pleasures  he  finds  no  satisfaction, 
the  disciple  who  is  fully  awakened  delights  only  in  the 
destniction  of  all  desires. 

188. 
Men,  driven  by  fear,  go  to  many  a  refuge,  to  moun- 
tains and  forests,  to  groves  and  sacred  trees. 

189. 
But  that  is  not  a  safe  refuge,  that  is  not  the  best 
refuge ;  a  man  is  not  delivered  from  all  pains  after  hav- 
ing gone  to  that  refuge. 

(185.)  "Patimokkhe,"  under  the  law,  i.  e.,  according  to  the  law,  the 
law  which  leads  to  "  Moksha,"  or  freedom.  "  Pratimoksha  "  is  the 
title  of  the  oldest  collection  of  the  moral  laws  of  the  Buddhists 
(Bumouf,  Introduction,  p.  300  ;  Bigandet,  The  Life  of  Guadama,  p. 
439),  and  as  it  was  common  both  to  the  Southern  and  the  North- 
ern Buddhists,  "  p.'\timokkhe "  in  our  passage  may  possibly  be 
meant,  as  Professor  Weber  suggests,  as  the  title  of  that  very  collec- 
tion. The  commentator  explains  it  by  "^re^/mksila  "  and  "  p&timokk- 
hasila,"  I  take  "  sayan&sam  "  for  "  sayanasanam  ;  "  see  Mahah.  xii. 
6684.     In  xii.  9978,  however,  we  find  also  "  sayyasane." 

(187.)  There  is  a  curious  similarity  between  this  verse  and  verse 
6503  (9919)  of  the  -Santiparva : — 

YaAr  kn.  kamasukham  loke,  yn.k  kt\.  divyam  mahat  sukham, 
Trishnakshayasukliasyaite  n2lrh;ita/i  shorfasim  kalam. 

"  And  whatever  delight  of  love  there  is  on  earth,  and  whatever  is  the 
great  delight  in  heaven,  they  are  not  worth  the  sixteenth  part  of  the 
pleasure  which  springs  from  the  d(!struction  of  all  desires." 


OR   "PATH   OF  VIRTUE."  '  247 

190. 
He  who  takes  refuge  with  Buddha,  the   Law,  and 
the  Church  ;  he  who,  with  clear  understanding,  sees 
the  four  holy  truths  :  — 

191. 
Namely,  pain,  the  origin  of  pain,  the  destruction  of 
pain,  and    the  eightfold    holy  way  that    leads  to  the 
quieting  of  pain,  — 

That    is  the  safe  refuge,  that    is    the  best  refuge; 

having  gone  to  that  refuge,  a  man  is  delivered  from 

all  pain. 

193. 

A  supernatural  person  is  not  easily  found,  he  is  not 
born  everywhere.    Wherever  such  a  sage  is  born,  that 

race  prospers. 

194. 

Happy  is  the  arising  of  the  Awakened,  happy  is 
the  teaching  of  the  True  Law,  happy  is  peace  in  the 
church,  happy  is  the  devotion  of  those  who  are  at 
peace. 

(188-192.)  These  verses  occur  in  Sanskrit  in  the  "PrStiharya- 
sutra,"  translated  by  Burnouf,  Introduction,  pp.  162-189;  see  p.  186. 
Burnouf  translates  "rukkha^-etyani  "  by  "arbres  consacres  ;  "  prop- 
erly, sacred  shrines  under  or  near  a  tree. 

(190.)  Buddha,  Dharma,  and  Sangha  are  called  the  "Trisarana" 
(of.  Burnouf,  Introd.  p.  630).  The  four  holy  truths  are  the  four 
statements  that  there  is  pain  in  this  world,  that  the  source  of  pain 
is  desire,  that  desire  can  be  _annihilated,  that  there  is  away  (shown 
hy  Buddha^  by  which  the  annihilation  of  all  desires  can  be  achieved, 
and  freedom  be  obtained.  That  way  consists  of  eight  parts.  See 
Burnouf,  Introduction,  p.  630.  The  eightfold  way  forms  the  subject 
of  chapter  xviii.  See  also  Chips  from  a  German  Workshop,  2d.  ed.  vol. 
i.  p.  251  seq. 


248  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

195,  196. 
He  who  pays  homage  to  those  who  deserve  homage, 
whether  the  awakened  (Buddha)  or  their  disciples, 
those  who  have  overcome  the  host  (of  evils),  and 
crossed  the  flood  of  sorrow,  he  who  pays  homage  to 
such  as  have  found  deliverance  and  know  no  fear,  his 
merit  can  never  be  measured  by  anybody. 


OR  "PATH  OF  VIRTUE."  249 


CHAPTER  XV. 

HAPPINESS. 
197. 

LET  us  live  happily,  then,  not  hating  those  who  hate 
us !  let  us  dwell  free  from  hatred  among  men  who 

hate! 

198. 
Let  us  live  happily,  then,  ?ree  from  ailments  among 
the  ailing!  let  us  dwell  free  from  ailments  among  men 
who  are  ailino- ! 

199. 
Let  us  live  happily,  then,  free  from  greed  among 
the  greedy !  let  us  dwell  free  from  greed  among  men 
who  are  greedy  ! 

200. 
Let  us  live  happily,  then,  though  we  call  nothing 
our  own !     We  shall  be  like  the  bright  gods,  feeding 
on  happiness ! 

(198.)  The  ailment  here  meant  is  moral  rather  than  physical.  Cf. 
Mahdbh.  xi\.  9924,  "  sawiprasanto  niramayaA  ;  "  9925,  "yo  saupra«an- 
tiko  rogas  tarn  trishnaw  tya7ataA  sukham." 

(200.)  The  words  placed  in  the  mouth  of  the  kinj^  of  Videha,  while 
his  residence  Mithila  was  in  flames,  are  curiously  like  our  verse ;  cf. 
Mahahh.  xii.  9917  :  — 

Siisukhawi  vata  givlmi  yasya  me  nisti  kiwkana. 
Mithilayam  pradiptSyaw  na  me  dahyati  kimfcina. 

"  I  live  happily,  indeed,  for  I  have  nothing ;  while  MithilA  is  in 
flames,  nothing  of  mine  is  burning." 

The  "  abhassara,"  i.  e.  "^bhasvara,"  the  bright  gods,  are  frequently 
mentioned.     Cf.  Bumouf,  Introd.  p.  611. 


2d0  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

201. 
Victory  breeds   hatred,   for   the    conquered    is   un- 
happy.   He  who  has  given  up  both  victory  and  defeat, 
he,  the  contented,  is  happy. 

202. 

There  is  no  fire  like  passion  :  there  is  no  unlucky 
die  like  hatred ;  there  is  no  pain  like  this  body  ;  there 
is  no  happiness  like  rest. 

203. 

Hunger  is  the  worst  of  diseases,  the  body  the 
greatest  of  pains ;  if  one  knows  this  truly,  that  is 
Nirva^ia,  the  highest  happiness. 

(202.)  I  take  "kali"  in  the  sense  of  an  unlucky  die  which  makes 
a  player  lose  his  game.  A  real  simile  seems  wanted  here,  as  in  v. 
252,  where,  for  the  same  reason,  I  translate  "  graha  "  by  "  shark," 
not  by  "  captivitas,"  as  Dr.  FausboU  proposes.  The  same  scholar 
translates  "  kali "  in  our  verse  by  "  peccatum."  If  there  is  any  ob- 
jection to  translating  "  kali "  in  Pali  by  unlucky  die,  I  should  still 
prefer  to  take  it  in  the  sense  of  the  age  of  depravity,  or  the  demon  of 
depravity. 

"Body"  for  "khandha"  is  a  free  translation,  but  it  is  difficult  to 
find  any  other  rendering.  According  to  the  Buddhists  each  sen- 
tient being  consists  of  five  "khandha"  (skandha),  or  branches, 
the  organized  body  (rupa  khandha)  with  its  four  internal  capacities 
of  sensation  (vedanS),  perception  (saw^riifi),  conception  (sawskara), 
knowledge  (vi(/nana).  See  Bumouf,  Introd.  pp.  589,  634;  Lotus, -p. 
335.  • 

(203.)  It  is  difficult  to  give  an  exact  rendering  of  "samskara," 
which  I  have  translated  sometimes  by  "  body  "  or  "  created  things," 
sometimes  by  "  natural  desires."  "  Samskara  "  is  the  fourth  of  the 
five  "  khandhas,"  but  the  commentator  takes  it  here,  as  Avell  as  in 
v.  255,  for  the  five  "  khandhas  "  together,  in  which  case  we  can  only 
translate  it  by  body,  or  created  things.  There  is,  however,  another 
"  sanjskSra,"  that  which  follows  immediately  upon  "  avidya,"  igno- 
rance, as  the  second  of  the  "  nidanas,"  or  causes  of  existence,  and  this 
too  might  be  called  the  greatest  pain,  considering  that  it  is  the  cause 
of  birth,  which  is  the  cause  of  all  pain.     Burnouf,  Lotus,  pp.  109,  827 


OR   "PATH  OF  VIRTUE."  251 

204. 
Health  is  the    greatest  of  gifts,    contentedness  the 
best  riches ;  trust  is  the  best  of  relatives,  Nirva/ia,  the 
highest  happiness. 

205. 
He  who  has  tasted  the  sweetness  of  solitude    and 
tranquillity,  is  free  from  fear  and  free  from  sin,  while 
he  tastes  the  sweetness  of  drinkino;  in  the  Law. 

206. 
The  sight  of  the  elect  (Arya)  is  good,  to  live   with 
them  is  always  happiness  ;  if  a  man  does  not  see  fools, 
he  will  be  truly  happy. 

207. 
He  who  walks  in  the  company  of  fools  suffers  a  long 
way ;  company  with  fools,  as  with  an  enemy,  is  always 

says,''  L'homme  des  Budclhistes  qui,  done  interieurement  de  I'idee  de 
la  forme,  voit  au  dehors  des  formes,  et,  apres  les  avoir  vaincues,  se 
dit :  je  connais,  je  vois,  ressemble  singulierement  au  *  sujet  victorieux 
de  chaque  objectivite  qui  demeure  le  sujet  triomphant  de  toutes 
choses.'" 

*  Sa7?iskara '  seems  sometimes  to  have  a  different  and  less  technical 
meaning,  and  to  be  used  in  the  sense  of  conceptions,  plans,  desires,  as, 
for  instance,  in  v.  368,  where  "  sa//ikhftrana»i  khayam"  is  used  much 
like  "  tamhAkhaya."  Desires,  however,  are  the  result  of  "samkhara," 
and  if  the  samkh;\ras  are  destroyed,  desires  cease;  see  v.  154, 
"  visamkharagataw  Arltram  ta/nhanam  khayam  agghagk."  Again,  in  his 
comment  on  v.  75,  Buddhaghosha  says,  "'  upadhiviveko  sawkharasam- 
ganikam  vinodeti;"  and  again,  "upadhiviveko  ka,  nirupadhinam  pug- 
galanam  visa??tkharagatanam." 

For  a  similar  sentiment,  see  Stanislas  Julien,  Les  Avadanas,  toI. 
i.  p.  40,  "  Le  corps  est  la  plus  grande  source  de  souffrance,"  etc.  I 
should  say  that  "  khandha"  in  v.  202,  and  ''sa?rtkhara"  in  v.  203,  are 
nearly,  if  not  quite,  synonymous.  I  should  prefer  to  read  "^gaHAa- 
paramS,"  as  a  compound.  "  Gigakkha,"  or  as  it  is  written  in  one  MS., 
"  diga^Mai,"  Sk.  "  ^righats^  "  means  not  only  hunger,  but  appetite, 
desire. 


262  Buddha's  dhammapada, 

painful ;  company  wnth  the  wise  is  pleasure,  like  meet- 
ing with  kinsfolk. 

208. 

Therefore,  one  ought  to  follow  the  wise,  the  intel- 
ligent, the  learned,  the  much  enduring,  the  dutiful, 
the  elect ;  one  ought  to  follow  a  good  and  wise  man, 
as  the  moon  follows  the  path  of  the  stars. 

(208.)  I  should  like  to  read  "  sukho  k&  dhirasamvaso." 


OR   "PATH  OF  VIRTUE."  253 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

PLEASURE. 

209. 

HE  who  gives  himself  to  vanity,  and  does  not  give 
himself  to  meditation,  forgetting  the  real  aim  (of 
life)  and  grasping  at  pleasure,  will  in  time  envy  him 
who  has  exerted  himself  in  meditation. 

210. 

Let  no  man  ever  look  for  what  is  pleasant,  or  what 
is  unpleasant.  Not  to  see  what  is  pleasant  is  pain,  and 
it  is  pain  to  see  what  is  unpleasant. 

211. 
Let,  therefore,  no  man  love  anything ;  loss  of  the 
beloved  is  evil.     Those  who  love    nothing,  and  hate 
nothing,  have  no  fetters. 

212. 

From   pleasure    comes    grief,  from    pleasure   comes 

fear  ;  he  who  is  free  from  pleasure  knows  neither  grief 

nor  fear. 

213. 

From   affection   comes  grief,  from   affection   comes 

fear;  he    who  is   free    from  affection   knows    neither 

grief  nor  fear. 


254  BUDDHA'S   DHAMMAPADA, 

214. 
From  lust  comes  grief,   from  lust   comes  fear;  he 
who  is  free  from  lust  knows  neither  grief  nor  fear. 

215. 

From  love  comes  grief,  from  love  comes  fear  ;  he 
who  is  free  from  love  knows  neither  grief  nor  fear. 

216. 

From  greed  comes  grief,  from  greed  comes  fear  ;  he 
who  is  free  from  greed  knows  neither  grief  nor  fear, 

217. 

He  who  possesses  virtue  and  intelligence,  who  is 
just,  speaks  the  truth,  and  does  what  is  his  own  husi- 
ness,  him  the  world  will  hold  dear. 


218. 

He  in  whom  a  desire  for  the  Ineffable  (Nirvana) 
has  sprung  up,  who  is  satisfied  in  his  mind,  and  whose 
thoughts  are  not  bewildered  by  love,  he  is  called 
Urdhvamsrotas  (carried  upwards  by  the  stream). 

(218.)  "  Urdhvamsrotas,"  or  "  uddha?wsoto,"  is  the  technical  namft 
'for  one  who  has  reached  the  world  of  the  "  Avrihas  "  ( Aviha),  and  is 
proceeding  to  that  of  the  "  Akanish/Aas  "  (Akani/Ma).  This  is  the 
last  stage  before  he  reaches  the  formless  world,  the  "  ArupadhAtu." 
See  PwahJes,  p.  123;  Burnouf,  Introd.  p.  599.  Originally  "urdh- 
vamsrotas" may  have  been  used  in  a  less  technical  sense,  meaning 
one  who  swims  against  the  stream,  and  is  not  carried  awa"  by  the  vul 
gar  passions  of  the  world. 


255 

219. 
Kinsfolk,  friends,  and  lovers  salute  a  man  who  has 
been  long  away,  and  returns  safe  from  afar. 

220. 

In  like  manner  his  good  works  receive  him  who  has 
done  good,  and  lias  gone  from  this  world  to  the  other  ; 
as  kinsmen  receive  a  friend  on  his  return. 


266  btjddha's  dhammapada, 


CHAPTER  XVn. 

ANGER. 
221. 

T  ET  a  man  leave  anger,  let  him  forsake  pride,  let 
-*-^  him  overcome  all  bondacre  !  No  suiferinors  befall 
the  man  wlio  is  not  attached  to  either  body  or  soul, 
and  who  calls  nothing  his  own. 

222. 
He  who  holds  back  rising  anger  like  a  rolling  char- 
iot, liim  I  call  a  real  driver ;    other  people    are   but 
holding  the  reins. 

223. 

Let  a  man  overcome  anger  by  love,  let  him  over- 
come evil  by  good  ;  let  him  overcome  the  greedy  by 
liberality,  the  liar  by  ti-uth  I 

224. 
Speak  the  truth,  do  not    yield  to  anger ;  give,  if 
thou   art  asked,  from  the  little    thou  hast;  by  those 
steps  thou  wilt  go  near  the  gods. 

(221.)  "Body  and  soul"  is  the  translation  of  "  n'lraa-r^pa,"  lit. 
"name  and  form,"  the  ninth  of  the  Buddhist  Nidanas.  Cf.  Burnouf, 
Tntrod.  p.  501  ;  see  also  Gogerly,  Lecture  on  Buddhism,  and  Bigant, 
The  Life  of  Gandama,  p.  454. 

(223.)  Mahabh.  xii.  3550,  "  asadhum  sadhuna  ^ayet." 


257 

225. 
The  sages  who  injure  nobody,  and  who  always  con- 
trol their  body,  they  will  go  to  the  unchangeable  place 
(Nirva?ia),  where  if  they  have  gone,  they  will  suffer 
no  more. 

226. 
Those  who  are  always  watchful,  who  study  day  and 
night,  and  who    strive    after    Nirvd/ia,  their   passions 
will  come  to  an  end. 

227. 
This  is  an  old  saying,  O  Atula,  this  is  not  only  of 
to-day  :  **  They  blame  him  who  sits  silent,  they  blame 
him  who  speaks  much,  they  also  blame  him  who  says 
little  ;  there  is  no  one  on  earth  who  is  not  blamed.'* 

228. 
There  never  was,  there  never  will  be,  nor  is  there 
now,  a  man  who  is  always  blamed,  or  a  man  who  is 
always  praised. 

229,  230. 
But    he  whom  those  who  discriminate  praise  con- 
tinually day  after  day,  as  without  bleaiish,  wise,  rich 
in  knowledge    and  virtue,  who  would  dare  to  blame 
him,  like  a  coin  made  of  gold  from  the  (rambu  river  ? 

(227.)  It  appears  from  the  commentary  that  "poranam"  and 
"  a^Sratanam  "  are  neuters,  referring  to  what  happened  formerly  and 
what  happens  to-day,  and  that  they  are  not  to  be  taken  as  adjec- 
tives referrino;  to  "  asinam,"  etc.  The  commentator  must  have 
read  "  atula  "  instead  of  "  atulam,"  and  he  explains  it  as  the  name  of 
a  pupil  whom  Gautama  addressed  by  that  name.  This  may  be  so 
(see  note  to  verse  166)  ;  but  "atula"  may  also  be  taken  in  the  sense 
of  incomparable  {Mahdbh.  xiii.  1937),  and  in  that  case  we  ought 
to  supply,  with  Professor  Weber,  some  such  word  as  "saw'*  or 
"saying." 

(230.)  The  Brahman  worlds  are  higher  than  the  Deva  worlds  as 
17 


258  BUDDHA'S   DHAMMAPADA, 

Even   the  gods    praise    him,  he    is    praised    even  by 
Brahman. 

231. 

Beware  of  bodily  anger,  and  control  thy  body ! 
Leave  the  sins  of  the  body,  and  with  thy  body  prac- 
tice virtue  I 

232. 

Beware  of  the  anger  of  the  tongue,  and  control  thy 
tongue  !  Leave  the  sins  of  the  tongue,  and  practice 
virtue  with  thy  tongue  ! 

233. 

Beware  of  the  anger  of  the  mind,  and  control  thy 
mind  !  Leave  the  sins  of  the  mind,  and  practice  virtue 
with  thy  mind ! 

234. 

The  wise  who  control  their  body,  who  control  their 
tongue,  the  wise  who  control  their  mind,  are  indeed 
well  controlled. 

the  Brahman  is  higher  than  a  Deva.     See  Hardy,  Manual,  p.  25 ; 
Bumouf,  Introduction,  pp.  134,  1 84. 


OR   ''PATH   OF   VIRTUE."  259 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

IMPURITY. 

235. 

^HOU  art  now  like  a  sear  leaf,  the  messengers  of 

-^    Death   (Yama)  have    come    near  to  thee ;    thou 

standest  at  the  door  of  thy  departure,  and  thou  hast 

no  provision  for  thy  journev. 

236. 

Make  thyself  an  island,  work  hard,  be  wise !  When 
thy  impurities  are  blown  away,  and  thou  art  free  from 
guilt,  thou  wilt  enter  into  the  heavenly  world  of  the 
Elect  (Ariya). 

237, 

Thy  life  has  come  to  an  end,  thou  art  come  near 
to  Death  (Yama),  there  is  no  resting-place  for  thee 
on  the  road,  and  thou  hast  no  provision  for  thy  jour- 
ney. 

288. 

Make  thyself  an  island,  work  hard,  be  wise  !  When 
thy  impurities  are  blown  away,  and  thou  art  free  from 
guilt,  thou  wilt  not  enter  again  into  birth  and  decay. 

(235.)  "Uyyoga"  seems  to  means  "departure."  See  Buddha- 
ghosha's  commentary  on  verse  1.52,  p.  319,  1.  1;  FausbOll,  Five 
Gdtakas,  p.  35. 

(236  )  An  "  island,"  for  a  drowning  man  to  save  himself.  See 
verse  25.  "Dipa/«kara"  is  the  name  of  one  of  the  former  Buddhas, 
and  it  is  also  used  as  an  appellative  of  the  Buddha. 


260  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

239. 
Let  a  wise  man  blow  off  the  impurities  of  his  soul, 
as  a  smitli  blows  off  the  impurities  of  silver,  one  by 
one,  little  by  little,  and  from  tiuie  to  time. 

240. 
Impurity  arises  from    the  iron,   and,  having  arisen 
from  it,  it  destroys  it ;  tlms  do  a  transgressor's  own 
works  lead  him  to  the  evil  path. 

241. 

The  taint  of  prayers  is  non-repetition  ;  the  taint  of 
houses,  non-repair;  the  taint  of  the  body  is  sloth,  the 
taint  of  a  watchman  thoujxlitlessness. 

242. 
Bad  conduct  is  the  taint  of  woman,  greediness  the 
taint  of  a  benefactor  ;    tainted    are  all  evil  ways,  in 
this  world  and  in  the  next. 

243. 

But  there  is  a  taint  worse  than  all  taints,  ignorance 
is  the  greatest  taint.  O  mendicants  !  throw  off  that 
taint,  and  become  taintless ! 

244. 

Life  is  easy  to  live  fjr  a  man  who  is  without  shame, 
a  crow  hero,  a  mischief-maker,  an  insulting,  bold,  and 
wretched  fellow. 


(244.)  "  Pakkhandin  "  is  identified  by  Dr.  Fausboll  with  "praskan- 
din,"  one  who  jumps  forward,  insults,  or,  as  Buddhaghosha  explains 
it,  one  who  meddles  with  other  people's  business,  an  interloper.  At 
nil  events,  it  is  a  terra  of  reproach,  and,  as  it  would  seem,  of  theologi- 
cal reproach. 


OR    "  PATH   OF   VIRTUE."  261 

245. 
But  life  is  hard  to  live  fur  a  modest  man,  who  always 
looks  for  what  is  pure,  who  is  disinterested,  quiet,  spot- 
less, and  intelligent. 

246. 
He    who    destroys    life,   who  speaks    untruth,    who 
takes  in  this  world  what  is  not  given  him,  who  takes 
another  man's  wife  ; 

247. 
And  the  man  who  gives  himself  to  drinking  intoxi- 
cating liquors,  he,  even  in  this  world,  digs  up  his  own 

root. 

248. 

O  man,  know  this,  that  the  unrestrained  are  in  a 
bad  state ;  lake  care  that  greediness  and  vice  do  not 
bring  thee  to  grief,  for  a  long  time  ! 

249. 
The  world  gives  according  to  their  faith  or  according 
to  their  pleasure:  if  a  man  frets  about  the  food  and  the 
drink  given  to  others,  he  will  find  no  rest  either  by 

day  or  by  night. 

250. 

He  in  whom  that  feeling  is   destroyed,  and  taken 

out  with  the  very  root,  finds  rest  by  day  and  by  night. 

(246.)  On  the  five  principal  commandments  which  are  recapitulated 
in  verses  246  and  247.  see  Rambles,  p.  153. 

(248.)  Cf.  Mahdhhdrata,  xii.  4055,  "yeshaw  vrittis  kk  samyata." 
See  al.>o  v.  307. 

(249.)  This  verse  has  evidently  regard  to  the  feelings  of  the  Bhik- 
shus  or  mendicants  who  receive  either  much  or  little,  and  who  are  ex- 
horted not  to  be  envious  if  others  receive  more  than  they  themselves. 
Several  of  the  parables  illustrate  this  feeling. 


262  Buddha's  dhammapada, 

251. 
There  is  no  fire  like  passion,  there  is  no  shark  like 
hatred,  tliere  is  no  snare  like  folly,  there  is  no  torrent 
like  greed. 

252. 

The  fault  of  others  is  easily  perceived,  but  that  of 
oneself  is  difficult  to  perceive  ;  the  faults  of  others 
one  lays  open  as  much  as  possible,  but  one's  own 
fault  one  hides  as  a  cheat  hides  the  bad  die  from  the 
gambler. 

253. 

If  a  man  looks  after  the  faults  of  others,  and  is 
always  inclined  to  detract,  his  own  weakne>ses  will 
grow,  and  he  is  far  from  the  destruction  of  weakness. 

254. 
There  is  no  path  through  the  air,  a  man  is  not  a 
Sramansi   by  outward   ar-ts.     The    world    delights   in 
vanity,  the  Tathagatas  (the  Buddhas)  are  free  from 
vanity. 

(251.)  Dr.  Fausboll  translates  "  gaho  "  by  "captivitas,"  Dr.  We- 
ber by  "  fetter."  I  take  it  in  the  same  sense  as  "  g-aha  "  in  Mann,  vL 
78;  and  Budclhagho>ha  does  the  same,  though  he  assigns  to  "  griiha" 
a  more  general  meaning,  namely,  anything  that  seizes,  whether  an  evil 
spirit  (yakkha),  a  serpent  (a^agara)  or  a  crocodile  (kumbhila). 

Greed  or  thirst  is  represented  as  a  river  in  "  Lalita-vistara,"  ed. 
Calc.  p.  482,  "  trish«a-nadi  tivega  pra-soshita  me  ^rnanasuryewa,"  the 
wild  river  of  thirst  is  dried  up  by  the  sun  of  my  knowledge. 

(253  )  As  to  "  asava,"  "  weakness,"  see  note  to  v.  39. 

(254.)  I  have  translated  this  verse  very  freely,  and  not  in  accordance 
with  Buddhaghosha's  commentary.  Dr.  Fausboll  proposed  to  trans- 
late: "No  one  who  is  outside  the  Buddhist  community  can  walk 
through  the  air,  but  only  a  -Sramana ;  "  and  the  same  view  is  taken 
by  Professor  Weber,  though  he  arrives  at  it  by  a  diiferent  construc- 
tion. Now  it  is  perfectly  true  that  the  idea  of  magical  powers  (riddhi) 
which  enable  saints  to  walk  through  the  air,  etc  ,  occurs  in  the  Dham- 
mapada, see  V.  175,  note.     But  the  Dhammapada  may  contain  earlier 


OR   "PATH  OF  VIRTUE."  263 

255. 
There  is  no  path  through  the  air,  a  man  is  not  a 
Snimansi  by  outward  acts.     No  creatures  are  eternal ; 
but  the  Awakened  (Buddha)  are  never  shaken. 

and  later  verses,  and  in  that  case  our  verse  might  be  an  early  protest 
on  the  part  of  Buddha  against  the  belief  in  such  miraculous  powers. 
We  know  how  Buddha  himself  protested  against  his  disciples  being 
called  upon  to  perform  vulgar  miracles.  "  I  command  my  disciples  not 
to  work  miracles,"  he  said,  "  but  to  hide  their  good  deeds,  and  to  show 
their  sins."  Burnouf,  Introduction,  p.  170.  It  would  be  in  harmony 
with  this  sentiment  if  we  translated  our  verse  as  I  have  done.  As  to 
"  bahira,"  I  should  take  it  in  the  sense  of  "  external,"  as  opposed  to 
"  adhyatmika,"  or  "  internal ;  "  and  the  meaning  would  be,  a  "  5ra- 
mana  is  not  a  5ramana  by  outward  acts,  but  by  his  heart." 

"  Prapa/^^-a,"  which  I  have  here  translated  by  "  vanity,  seems  to  in- 
clude the  whole  host  of  human  weaknesses  ;  cf.  v.  196,  where  it  is  ex- 
plained by  "  ta?«hadi«/amanapapari^a;"  in  our  verse  by  "tamhadisu 
papanl-esu."  Cf.  Lalita-vistara,  p.  564,  "  analayam  nishprapanAram 
anutpadam  asamb"havam  (dharma^-akrara)."  As  to  "  Tathogata,"  a 
name  of  Buddha,  cf.  Burnouf,  Introd.  p.  7.5. 

(259.)  "  ,Sa/rtkhara  "  for  "  sa?niskar£L ;  cf.  note  to  v.  203 


264  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE   JUST. 

256,  257. 
A  MAN  is  not  a  just  judge  if  he  carries  a  matter 
■^-^  by  violence  ;  no,  he  who  distincruishes  both  right 
and  wrong,  who  is  learned  and  leads  others,  not  by 
violence,  but  by  law  and  equity,  lie  who  is  a  guardian 
of  the  law  and  intelligent,  he  is  called  Just. 

258. 
A  man  is  not  learned  because  he  talks  much  ;  he 
who  is  patient,  free  from  hatred  and  fear,  he  is  called 
learned. 

259. 

A  man  is  not  a  supporter  of  the  law  because  he 
talks  much  ;  even  if  a  man  has  learned  little,  but  sees 
the  law  bodily,  he  is  a  supporter  of  the  law,  a  man 
who  never  neglects  the  law. 

260. 
A  man  is  not  an  elder  because  his  head  is  gray ;  his 
age  may  be  ripe,  but  he  is  called  **  Old-in-vain.'* 

261. 
He  in  whom  there  is  truth,  virtue,  love,  restraint, 

(259.)  Buddhaghosha  here  takes  law  (dharama)  in  the  sense  of 
the  four  great  truths,  see  note  to  v.  190.  Could  "dhamma?tt  kayena 
passati  "  mean,  he  observes  the  law  in  his  acts  ?  Hardly,  if  we 
compare  expressions  like  "  dhamma/n  vipassato,"  v.  373. 


OR   "  PATH   OF  VIRTUE."  265 

moderation,  he  who  is  free  from  impurity  and  is  wise, 
he  is  called  an  "  Elder." 

262. 
An  envious,  greedy,  dislionest  man  does  not  become 
respectable  by  means  of  much  talking  only,  or  by  the 
beauty  of  his  complexion. 

263. 

He  in  whom  all  this  is  destroyed,  taken  out  with 
the  very  root,  he,  freed  from  hatred  and  wise,  is  called 
''Respectable." 

264. 

Not  by  tonsure  does  an  undisciplined  man  who 
speaks  falsehood,  become  a  Srsunans. ;  can  a  man  be  a 
/S'ramawa  who  is  still  held  captive  by  desire  and  greed- 
iness ? 

265. 

He  who  always  quiets  the  evil,  whether  small  or 
large,  he  is  called  a  Si'SLmansi  (a  quiet  man),  because 
he  has  quieted  all  evil. 

^  (265.)  This  is  curious  etymology,  because  it  shows  that  at  the 
time  when  tliis  verse  was  written,  the  ori-iiial  meaning  of  "srama«a" 
had  been  foro-otten.  "  Srama/?a  "  meant  originally,  in  the  language 
of  the  Brahmans,  a  man  who  performed  hard  penances,  from  "  sram/^ 
to  work  hard,  etc.  When  it  became  the  name  of  the  Buddhist  as- 
cetics, the  language  had  changed,  and  •'  srama»a  "  was  ])ronounced 
"samana."  Now  there  is  another  Sanskrit  root,  ".sam,"  to  quiet, 
which  in  Pali  becames  likewise  "  sam,"  and  from  this  root  "  sam,"  to 
quiet,  and  not  from  "  sram,"  to  tire,  did  the  popular  etymology  of 
the  day  and  the  writer  of  our  verse  derive  the  title  of  the  Buddhist 
priests.  The  original  form  "sramana"  became  known  to  the  Greeks 
as  lapnavai,  that  of  "  samana  "  as  Sa/zaiwoi ;  the  former  though  Me- 
gasthenes,  the  latter  through  Bardesanes,  80-60  b.  c.  See  Lassen, 
Indlsche  Alterthmnshmde,  ii.  700.  The  Chinese  "  Shamen  "  and  the 
Tungusian  "  Shamen "  come  from  the  same  source,  though  the 
latter  is  sometimes  doubted. 


266  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

266. 
A  man  is  not  a  mendicant  (Bhikshu),  simply  be- 
cause   he  asks   others  for  ahns ;  he    who  adopts    the 
whole  law  is  a  Bhikshu,  not  he  who  only  begs. 

267. 
He  who  is  above  good  and  evil,  who  is  chaste,  who 
with  knowledcre  passes  through  the  world,  he  indeed 
is  called  a  Bhikshu. 

268,  269. 

A  man  is  not  a  Muni  because  he  observes  silence 
(mona,  {.  e.  mauna),  if  he  is  foolish  and  ignorant ;  but 
the  wise  who,  taking  the  balance,  chooses  the  good 
and  avoids  evil,  he  is  a  "Muni,"  and  is  a  "Muni" 
thereby ;  he  who  in  this  world  weighs  both  sides  is 
called  a  "  Muni." 

270. 

A  man  is  not  an  Elect  (Ariya)  because  he  injures 
living  creatures;  because  he  has  pity  on  all  living 
creatures,  therefore  is  a  man  called  "  Ariya." 

271,  272. 
Not  only  by  discipline  and  vows,  not  only  by  much 
learning,  not  by  entering  into  a  trance,  not  by  sleep- 

(266,  270.)  The  etymologies  here  given  of  the  ordinary  titles  of 
the  followers  of  Buddha  are  entirely  fanciful,  and  are  curious  only  as 
showing  how  the  people  who  spoke  Pjili  had  lost  the  etymological 
consciousness  of  their  language.  A  "  Bhikshu  "  is  a  beggar,  i.  e.,  a 
Buddhist  friar  who  has  left  his  family  and  lives  entirely  on  alms. 
"  Muni "  is  a  sage,  hence  "  ASukya-muni,"  the  name  of  Gautama. 
"  Muni "  comes  from  "  man,"  to  think,  and  from  "  muni "  comes 
"mauna,"  silence.  "Ariya,"  again,  is  the  general  name  of  those 
who  embace  a  religious  life.  It  meant  originally  "  respectable, 
noble."  In  v.  270  it  seems  as  if  the  writer  wished  to  guard  against 
deriving  "  ariya  "  from  "  ari,"  enemy.     See  note  to  v.  22. 


OR   "PATH  OF   VIRTUE."  267 

ing  alone,  do  I  learn  the  happiness  of  release  which  no 
worldling  can  know.  A  Bhikshu  receives  confidence 
when  he  has  reached  the  complete  destruction  of  all 
desires  ! 

(272.)  The  last  line  is  obscure,  because   the  commentary  is  im- 


268  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE    WAY. 
273. 

rriHE  best    of  ways  is  the  Eightfold  ;    the   best  of 
-*"    truths  the  Four  Words ;  the  best  of  virtues  pas- 
sionlessness ;  the  best  of  men  he  who  has  eyes  to  see. 

274. 
This  is  the  way,  there  is  no  other  that  leads  to  the 
purifying  of  intelligence.    Go  ye  on  this  way  I    Every- 
thing else  is  the  deceit  of  Mara  (the  tempter). 

275. 
If  you  go  on  this  way,   you  will  make  an  end  of 
pain  !     The  way  was   preaclied    by  me,   when  I  had 
understood  the  removal  of  the  thorns  (in  the  flesh). 

(273.)  The  eightfold  or  eight-membered  way  is  the  technical  term 
for  the  way  by  which  Nirvana  is  attained.  See  Burnouf,  Lotus,  519. 
This  very  way  constitutes  the  fourth  of  the  Four  Truths,  or  the  four 
words  of  truth,  namely,  DuAkha,  pain;  Samudaya,  origin;  Nirodha, 
destruction;  MSrga,  road.  Lotus,  y>-  517.  See  note  to  v.  178.  For 
another  explanation  of  the  M.irga,  or  way,  see  Hardy,  Eastern  Mon- 
ackisin,  p.  280. 

(275.)  The  "salyas,"  arrows  or  thorns,  are  the  "soka^alya,"  the 
arrows  of  grief.  Buddha  himself  is  called  "  mah<isalya-harta," 
the  great  remover  of  thorns.  Lalita-vistara,  p.  550;  MaJidbh.  xii. 
^^616. 


OR   "  PATH  OF   \nRTUE."  269 

276. 
Yon  yourself  must  make  an  effort.    Tlie  Tatliagatas 
(Bud(llias)  are  only  ])i-eacliers.     The  thouorlitful  who 
enter  the  way  are  freed  from  the  bondage  of  Mara. 

277. 
''  All    created    tilings    perish,"  he  who  knows  and 
sees  this  becomes  passive   in  pain ;  this  is  the  way  to 
purity. 

278. 

"  All  creatures  are  grief  and  pain,"  he  who  knows 
and  sees  this  becomes  passive  in  pain  ;  this  is  the  way 
to  purity. 

279. 

"  All  forms  are  unreal,"  he  who  knows  and  sees 
this  becomes  passive  in  pain ;  this  is  the  way  to  purity. 

280. 
He  who  does  not  rise  when  it  is  time  to  rise,  who, 
though  young  and  strong,  is  full  of  sloth,  whose  will 
and    thought  are  weak,  that  lazy  and    idle  man  will 
never  find  the  way  to  knowledge. 

281. 
"Watching  his  speech,  well  restrained  in  mind,  let 
a  man  never  commit  any  wrong  with  his  body !     Let 
a  man  but  keep  these  three  roads  of  action  clear,  and 
he  will  achieve  the  way  which  is  taught  by  the  wise. 

282. 
Through  zeal  knowledge  is  gotten,  through  lack  of 

(277.)  See  v.  255. 
(278.)  See  v.  203. 

(279.)  "  Dhararaa  "  is  here  explained,  like  "  samkhfira,"  as  the  five 
"  khandha,"  i.  e.,  as  what  constitutes  a  living  body. 


270  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA. 

zeal  knowledge  is  lost  ;  let  a  man  who  knows  this 
double  path  of  gain  and  loss  thus  place  himself  that 
knowledge  may  grow. 

283. 

Cut  down  the  whole  forest  of  lust,  not  the  tree  ! 
From  lust  springs  fear.  When  you  have  cut  down 
every  tree  and  every  shrub,  then,  Bhikshus,  you  will 
be  free  ! 

284. 

So  long  as  the  love  of  man  towards  women,  even  the 
smallest,  is  not  destroyed,  so  long  is  his  mind  in  bond- 
age, as  the  calf  that  drinks  milk  is  to  its  mother. 

285. 
Cut  out  the  love  of  self,  like  an  autumn  lotus,  with 
thy  hand  !     Cherish  the  road  of  peace.     Nirvana  has 
been  shown  by  Sugata  (Buddha). 

286. 
"Here  I  shall  dwell  in  the  rain,  here  in  winter  and 
summer,"  thus  meditates  the  fool,  and  does  not  think 
of  his  death. 

287. 
Death  comes  and  carries  off  that  man,  surrounded 
by  children  and  flocks,  his  mind  distracted,  as  a  flood 
carries  off  a  sleeping  village. 

(282.)  "Bhilri"  was  rightly  translated  "  intelHgentia "  by  Dr. 
FausboU.  Dr.  Weber  renders  it  by  "  Gedeihen,"  but  the  commen- 
tator distinctly  explains  it  as  "  vast  knowledge,"  and  in  the  technical 
sense  the  word  occurs  after  "  vidya  "  and  before  "  midha,"  in  the 
Lalita-vistara,  p.  .541. 

(283.)  A  pun,  "  vana  "  meaning  both  "lust"  and  "forest." 

(280.)  "  AntarSya,"  according  to  the  commentator,  "^ivitantaraya," 
i.  €.,  interitus,  death.  In  Sanskrit,  "  antarita"  is  used  in  the  sense  of 
"vanished"  or  "  perished." 

(287.)  See  notes  to  v.  47,  and  cf.  Mahdbh.  xii.  9944,  6540. 


OR   "  PATH   OF  VIRTUE."  271 

288. 
Sons  are  no  help,  nor  a  father,  nor  relations  ;  there 
is  no  help  from    kinsfolk    for   one  whom    Death    has 
seized. 

289. 

A  wise  and  good  man  who  knows  the  meaning  of 
this,  should  quickly  clear  the  way  that  leads  to  Nir- 
va/ia. 


272  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 


CHAPTER  XXL 

MISCELLANEOUS. 
290. 

IF  by  leaving;  a  small  pleasure  one  sees  a  great  pleas- 
ure, let  a  wise  man  leave  the  small  pleasure,  and 
look  to  the  great. 

291. 

He  who,  by  causing  pain  to  others,  wishes  to  obtain 
pleasure  himself,  he,  entangled  in  the  bonds  of  hatred, 
will  never  be  free  from  hatred. 

292. 
What   ought  to  be  done  is  neglected,  what  ought 
not  to  be  done  is  done ;  the  sins  of  unruly,  thought- 
less people  are  always  increasing. 

293. 
But  they  whose  whole  watchfulness  is  always  di- 
rected to  their  body,  who  do  not  follow  what  ought 
not  to  be  done,  and  who  steadfastly  do  what  ought 
to  be  done,  the  sins  of  such  watchful  and  wise  people 
will  come  to  an  end. 

294. 

A  true  Br^hmawa,  though  he  has  killed  father  and 
mother,  and  two  valiant  kings,  though  he  has  de- 
stroyed a  kingdom  with  all  its  subjects,  is  free  from 
guilt. 


273 

295. 
A  true  Brahmawa,  though  he  has  killed  father  and 
mother,  and  two  holy  kings,  and  even  a  fifth  man,  is 
free  from  guilt. 

296. 
The  disciples  of  Gotama  (Buddha)  are  always  well 
awake,  and  their  thoughts  day  and  night  are  always 
set  on  Buddha. 

297. 
The   disciples  of   Gotama  are  always  well  awake, 
and  their  tlioughts  day  and  night  are  always  set  on 
the  Law. 

298. 
The   disciples   of  Gotama  are  always  well  awake, 
and  their  thoughts  day  and  night  are  always  set   on 
the  Church. 

299. 
The   disciples    of  Gotama   are  always  well  awake, 
and  their  thoughts  day  and  night  are  always  set  on 
their  body. 

300. 
The    disciples   of  Gotama  are  always  well  awake, 
and  their  mind  day  and  night  always  delights  in  com- 
passion. 

301. 
The   disciples   of  Gotama  are  always  w^ell  awake, 
and  their  mind  day  and  night  always  delights  in  med- 
itation. 

302. 
The  hard  parting,  the  hard  living  alone,  the  unin- 

(294,  295.)  These  two  verses  are  either  meant  to  show  that  a  truly- 
holy  man  who  by  accident  commits  all  these  crimes  is  guiltless,  or 
they  refer  to  some  particular  event  in  Buddha's  history.  The  com- 
mentator is  so  startled  that  he  explains  them  allegorically.  The 
meaning  of  '"  veyyaggha  "  I  do  not  understand. 
18 


274  Buddha's  dhammapada, 

habitable  houses  are  painful  ;  painful  is  the  company 
with  men  wlio  are  not  our  equals  ;  subject  to  pain  are 
the  travelling  friars  ;  therefore  let  no  man  be  a  travel- 
ling friar,  and  he  will  not  be  subject  to  pain. 

303. 
"Whatever  place  a  faithful,  virtuous,  celebrated,  and 
wealthy  man  chooses,  there  he  is  respected. 

304. 
Good  people  shine  from  afar,  like  the  snowy  moun- 
tains ;    bad  people  are  not  seen,  like  arrows  shot  by 
night. 

(302.)  Unless  this  verse  formed  part  of  a  miscellaneous  chapter,  I 
should  hardly  have  ventured  to  translate  it  as  I  have.  If  the  verse 
means  anythin;^,  it  means  that  parting  with  one's  friends,  living  in  the 
wilderness,  or  in  wretched  hovels,  or  travelling  about  from  place  to 
place,  homeless  and  dependent  on  casual  charity,  is  nothing  but  pain 
and  grief,  and,  we  should  say,  according  to  the  author's  opinion,  use- 
less. In  other  verses,  on  the  contrary,  this  very  life,  this  parting  with 
all  one  holds  dear,  living  in  solitude,  and  depending  on  alms,  is  repre- 
sented as  the  only  course  that  can  lead  a  man  to  wisdom,  peace,  and 
Nirvana.  Such  contradictions,  strange  as  they  sound,  are  not  uncom- 
mon in  the  literature  of  the  Brahraans.  Here,  too,  works  are  fre- 
quently represented  as  indispensable  to  salvation,  and  yet,  in  other 
places,  and  from  a  higher  point  of  view,  these  very  works  are  con- 
demned as  useless,  nay,  even  as  a  hindrance  in  a  man's  progress  to 
real  perfection.  It  is  possible  that  the  same  view  found  advocates  even 
in  the  early  days  of  Buddhism,  and  that,  though  performing  the  or- 
dinary duties,  and  enjoying  the  ordinary  pleasures  of  life,  a  man 
might  consider  that  he  was  a  truer  disciple  of  Buddha  than  the  dreamy 
inhabitant  of  a  Vihlra,  or  the  mendicant  friar  who  every  morning 
called  for  alms  at  the  layman's  door  (cf.  vv.  141,  142).  The  next  verse 
confirms  the  view  which  I  have  taken. 

Should  it  not  be  "  asamcinasa/wvSso,"  i.  e.,  living  with  people  who 
are  not  one's  equals,  which  was  the  case  in  the  Buddhist  communities, 
and  must  have  been  much  against  the  grain  of  the  Hindus,  accustomed, 
as  they  were,  to  live  always  among  themselves,  among  their  own  rela 
tions,  their  own  profession,  their  own  caste  ?  Living  with  his  supe 
riors  is  equally  disagreeable  to  a  Hindu,  as  living  with  his  inferiors 
"  Asamama,"  unequal,  might  easily  be  mistaken  for  "  samana,"  proud 


OR   "PATH   OF  VIRTUE."  275 

305. 
He  who,  without  ceasing,  practices  the  duty  of  eat- 
ing alone    and    sleeping   alone,  he,  subduing   himself, 
alone  will  rejoice  in  the  destruction  of  all  desires,  as 
if  living  in  a  forest. 

^  (305.)  I  have  translated  this  verse  so  as  to  bring  it  into  something 
like  harmony  with  the  preceding  verses.  "  Vanante,"  according  to  a 
pun  pointed  out  before  (v.  283),  means  both  "in  the  end  of  a  forest," 
and  "  in  the  end  of  desires." 


276  Buddha's  dhammapada, 


CHAPTER  XXn. 

THE   DOWNWARD   COURSE. 
306. 

TTE  who  says  what  is  not,  goes  to  hell ;  he  also 
-*--*■  who,  having  done  a  thing,  says  I  have  not  done 
it.  After  death  both  are  equal,  they  are  men  with  evil 
deeds  in  the  next  world. 

307. 
Many  men  whose   shoulders  are  covered  with  the 
orange    gown   are   ill-conditioned   and   unrestrained ; 
such  evil-doers  by  their  evil  deeds  go  to  hell. 

308. 
Better  it  would  be  to  swallow  a  heated  iron  ball, 
like  flaring  flre,  than  that  a  bad  unrestrained  fellow 
should  live  on  the  charity  of  the  land. 

309. 
Four  things  does  a  reckless  man  gain  who  covets 

(306.)  I  translate  "  niraya,"  the  exit,  the  downward  course,  the  evil 
path,  by  "  hell,"  because  the  meaning  assigned  to  that  ancient  mytho- 
logical name  by  Christian  writers  comes  so  near  to  the  Buddhist  idea 
of  "niraya,"  that  it  is  difficult  not  to  believe  in  some  actual  contact 
between  these  two  streams  of  thought.  See  also  Mahabh.  xii.  7176. 
"  Abhatavadin  "  is  mentioned  as  a  name  of  Buddha,  "  sarvasamskar- 
apratisuddhatvat."    Lalita-vistara,  p.  555. 

(308.)  The  charity  of  the  land,  i.  e.,  the  alms  given,  from  a  sense  of 
religious  duty,  to  every  mendicant  that  asks  for  it. 


OR   "  PATH   OF   VIRTUE."  277 

his  neiVhbor's  wife,  —  a  bad  reputation,  an  uncomfort- 
able bed,  thirdly,  punishment,  and  lastly,  hell. 

310. 
There  is  bad  reputation,  and  the  evil  way  (to  hell)  ; 
there  is  the  short  ])leasure  of  the  friojhtened  in  tlie 
arms  of  the  fri^rjitened,  and  tlie  kin<T  imposes  heavy 
punishment ;  therefore  let  no  man  think  of  his  neigh- 
bor's wife. 

311. 

As  a  <Trass-blade,  if  badly  grasped,  cuts  the  arm, 
badly-practiced  asceticism  leads  to  hell. 

312. 
An    act   carelessly  performed,  a  broken    vow,  and 
hesirating  obedience  to  discipline,  all  this    brings   no 
great  reward. 

313. 

If  anything  is  to  be  done,  let  a  man  do  it,  let  him 
attack  it  vigorously  !  A  careless  pilgrim  only  scat- 
ters the  dust  of  his  passions  more  widely. 

314. 
An  evil  deed  is  better  left  undone,  for  a  man  re- 
pents of  it  afterwards ;  a  good  deed  is   better   done, 
for  having  done  it,  one  does  not  repent. 

(309,310.)  The  four  thinj^s  mentioned  in  verse  309  seem  to  be  re- 
peated in  verse  310.  Therefore,  "  apunnaltibha,"  bad  fame,  is  the 
same  in  both  :  "  jrati  papika  "  must  be  "  niraya  ;  "  "  dandsi "  must  be 
"ninda,"  and  "rati  thokika  "  exi)l:iins  the  "  anikamaseyyaw."  Bud- 
dhaghosha  takes  the  same  view  of  the  meaning  of  "anikamaseyya," 
i.  e.,  "yatha  ikkhau  eva/«  seyyam  aiabhitva,  anikklntum  parittakam  eva 
kalam  seyya/«  labhati,"  not  obtaining  the  rest  as  he  wishes  it,  he  ob- 
tains it,  as  he  does  not  wish  it,  /.  e.,  for  a  short  time  only. 

(313.)  As  to  "  ra^a  "  meaning  "dust"  and  "passion,"  see  Paro- 
bles,  pp.  65  and  66. 


278  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

315. 
Like    a   well-guarded   frontier   fort,  with    defenses 
within  and  without,  so  let  a  man  guard  himself.     Not 
a  moment  should  escape,  for  they  who  allow  the  right 
moment  to  pass,  suffer  pain  when  they  are  in  hell. 

316. 
They  who  are  ashamed  of  what  they  ought  not  to 
be  ashamed  of,  and  are  not  ashamed   of  what   they 
ought  to  be  ashamed  of,  such  men,  embracing   false 
doctrines,  enter  the  evil  path. 

317. 
They  who  fear  when  they  ought  not  to  fear,  and 
fear  not  when  they  ought  to  fear,  such  men,  embrac- 
ing false  doctrines,  enter  the  evil  path. 

318. 
They  who  forbid  when  there  is  nothing  to  be  for- 
bidden, and  forbid  not  when  there  is  something  to  be 
forbidden,  such  men,  embracing  false  doctrines,  enter 
the  evil  path. 

319. 
They  who  know  what  is   forbidden   as   forbidden, 
and  what  is  not  forbidden  as  not  forbidden,  such  men, 
embracing  the  true  doctrine,  enter  the  good  path. 


279 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE    ELEPHANT. 

320. 
CILENTLY  shall  I  endure   abuse  as  the  elepliant 
^  in  battle  endures  the  arrow  sent  from  the  bow  :  for 
the  world  is  ill-natured. 

321. 
A   tamed  elephant   they   lead   to  battle,    the    king 
mounts  a  tamed  elephant ;  the  tamed  is  the  best  among 
men,  he  who  silently  endures  abuse. 

322. 
Mules  are  good,  if  tamed,  and  noble  Sindhu  horses, 
and   elephants   with  large  tusks ;  but  he  who   tames 
himself  is  better  still. 

323. 

For  with  these  animals  does  no  man  reach  the  un- 
trodden country  (Nirvana),  where  a  tamed  man  goes 
on  a  tamed  animal,  namely  on  his  own  well-tamed  self. 

(320.)  The  elephant  is  with  the  Buddhists  the  emblem  of  endurance 
and  self-restraint.  Thus  Buddha  himself  is  called  "  Naga,"  the  Ele- 
phant (Lalita-vistara,  p.  553),  or  "  Mahanaga,"  the  great  Elephant 
(Laliia-vistara,  p.  553),  and  in  one  passage  {Lalita-vistara,  p.  554)  the 
reason  of  this  name  is  given,  by  stating  that  Buddha  was  "  sudanta," 
well-tamed,  like  an  elephant. 

Cf.  Manu,  vi.  47,  *'  ativadams  titiksheta." 

(323.)  I  read,  as  suggested  by  Ur.  FausboU,  "yath'  attana  sudan- 
tena  dan  to  dantena  gakkhm."  Cf.  v.  160.  The  India  Office  MS. 
reads  "  na  hi  etehi  ^Aanehi  gaJckheya.  agatam  disam,  yath'  attanarn  su- 
dantena  danto  dantena  gaM/iati."  As  to  "  thhnehi  "  instead  3f  yan- 
ehi,"  see  v.  224. 


280  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

324. 
The  elephant  called  Dhamapalaka,  his  temples  run- 
ning with  sap,  and  difficult  to  hold,  does    not   eat  a 
morsel  when  bound ;  the  elephant  longs  for  the  ele- 
phant grove. 
^        "  325. 

If  a  man  becomes  fat  and  a  great  eater,  if  he  is 
sleepy  and  rolls  himself  about,  that  fool,  like  a  hog  fed 
on  wash,  is  born  a^ain  and  again. 

826. 
This  mind  of  mine  went  formerly  wandering  about 
as  it  liked,  as  it  listed,  as  it  pleased  ;  but  I  shall  now 
hold  it  in  thorougldy,  as  the  rider  who  holds  the  hook 
holds  in  the  furious  elephant. 

32T. 
Be  not  thoughtless,  watch  your  thoughts  !     Draw 
yourself  out  of  the  evil  way,  like  an  elephant  sunk  in 
mud. 

328. 

If  a  man  find  a  prudent  companion  who  walks  with 
him,  is  wise,  and  lives  soberly,  he  may  walk  with  him, 
overcoming  all  dangers,  happy,  but  considerate. 

(326.)  "Yoniso,"  i.  e.,  "vonisaA,"  is  rendered  by  Dr.  Fausboll  "sa- 
pientia,"  but  the  reference  which  he  gives  to  Hemni-andra  (ed.  Boeht- 
lingk  and  Rieu,  p.  281)  shows  clearly  that  it  meant  "origin,"  or 
"  cause."  "  Yoniso  "  occurs  frequently  as  a  mere  adverb,  meaning 
thoroughly,  radically  (DAa/H wrt/>.  p.  3.59),  and  "yoniso  manasikara" 
(Dhanimap.  p.  110)  means  "taking  to  heart"  or  "minding  thor- 
oughly." In  the  Lalita-vistara,  p.  41,  the  commentator  has  clearly  mis- 
taken "  yonisaA,"  changing  it  to  "yesniso,"  and  explaining  it  by  "yam- 
anisam,"  whereas  M.  Foucaux  has  rightly  translated  it  by  "depuis 
Torigine."  Professor  Weber  imagines  he  has  discovered  in  "  yonisAA  " 
a  douhle-entendre,  but  even  grammar  would  show  that  our  author  is 
innocent  of  it. 


OR  "PATH    OF   VIRTUE."  281 

329. 
If  a  man  find  no  prudent  companion    who   walks 
with    him,   is   wise,  and    lives   soberly,  let  him  walk 
alone,  like  a  king  who  has  left  his  conquered  coun- 
try behind,  —  like  a  lonely  elephant. 

330. 
It  is  better  to  live  alone,  there  is  no  companionship 
with  a  fool ;  let  a  man  walk  alone,   let  him  commit  no 
sin,  with  few  wishes,  like  the  lonely  elephant. 

331. 
If  an  occasion  arises,  friends  are    pleasant ;  enjoy- 
ment is  pleasant  if  it  is  mutual ;  a  good  work  is  pleas- 
ant in  the  hour  of  death ;  the  giving  up  of  all  grief  is 
pleasant. 

332. 

Pleasant  is  the  state  of  a  mother,  pleasant  the  state 
of  a  father,  pleasant  the  state  of  a  *S'ramawa,  pleasant 
the  state  of  a  Brahmawa. 

333. 
Pleasant  is  virtue  lasting  to  old  age,  pleasant  is  a 
faith  firmly  rooted  ;  pleasant  is  attainment   of  intelli- 
gence, pleasant  is  avoiding  of  sins. 

(332.)  The  commentator  throughout  takes  these  words,  like  "mat- 
teyyata,"  etc.,  to  signify,  not  the  status  of  a  mother,  or  maternity,  but 
reverence  shown  to  a  mother. 


282  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THIRST. 
334. 

npHE  thirst  of  a  thoughtless  man  grows  like  a  creep- 
-*-  er ;  he  runs  hither  and  thither,  hke  a  monkey 
seeking  fruit  in  the  forest. 

335. 

Whom  this  fierce  thirst  overcomes,  full  of  poison, 
in  this  world,  his  sufferings  increase  like  the  abound- 
ing Birawa  grass. 

336. 

He  who  overcomes  this  fierce  thirst,  difficult  to  be 
conquered  in  this  world,  sufferings  fall  off  from  him, 
like  water-drops  from  a  lotus  leaf. 

33T. 
This  salutary  word  I  tell  you,  as  many  as  are  here 
come  together  :  "  Dig  up  the  root  of  thirst,  as  he  who 
wants  the  sweet-scented  Usira  root  must  dig  up  the 
Birawa  grass,  that  Mara  (the  tempter)  may  not  crusl 
you  again  and  again,  as  the  stream  crushes  the  reeds.* 

338. 
As  a  tree  is  firm  as  long  as  its   root   is   safe,  and 
grows  again  even  though  it  has  been  cut  down,  thus, 

(335.)  Virana  grass  is  the  Andropogon  muricatum,  and  the  scented 
root  of  it  is  called  "  usira  "  (cf.  v.  337). 


OR   "  PATH  OF  VIRTUE."  283 

unless  the  yearnings  of  thirst  are  destroyed,  this  pain 
(of  life)  will  return  again  and  again. 


He  whose  desire  for  pleasure  runs  strong  in  the 
thirty-six  channels,  the  waves  will  carry  away  that 
misguided  man,  namely,  his  desires  which  are  set  on 
passion. 

340. 

The  channels  run  everywhere,  the  creeper  (of  pas- 
sion) stands  sprouting  ;  if  you  see  the  creeper  spring- 
ing up,  cut  its  root  by  means  of  knowledge. 

341. 
A  creature's  pleasures  are  extravagant  and  luxuri- 
ous ;  sunk  in  lust  and  looking  for  pleasure,  men  un- 
dergo (again  and  again)  birth  and  decay. 

342. 
Men,  driven  on  by  thirst,  run  about  like  a  snared 
hare  ;    held   in  fetters  and  bonds,  they  undergo  pain 
for  a  long  time,  again  and  again. 

348. 
Men,  driven  on  by  thirst,  run  about  like  a  snared 

(338.)  On  "  Anusaya," /.  e.,  "anusaya,"  see  "Wassiljew,  Der  Bud- 
dhismns,  p.  240  seq. 

(339.)  The  thirty-six  channels,  or  passions,  which  are  divided  by 
the  commentator  into  eighteen  external  and  eighteen  internal,  are 
explained  by  Bnrnouf  (Lotus,  p.  649),  from  a  gloss  of  the  "  Cina- 
alamkara:  "  "  L'indication  precise  des  affections  dont  un  Buddha  acte 
independant,  affections  qui  sont  au  nombre  de  dix-huit,  nous  est  foumi 
par  la  glose  d'un  livre  appartenant  aux  Buddhistes  de  Ceylan," 
etc. 

"  Vaha,"  which  Dr.  FausboU  translates  by  "  equi,"  may  be  "  vaha," 
undse. 


284  Buddha's  dhammapada, 

hare  ;  let  therefore  the  mendicant  who  desires  passion* 
lessness  for  himself,  drive  out  thirst ! 

344. 
He  who  in  a  country  without  forests  (^.  e.,  after  hav- 
ing reached  Nirvana)  gives  himself  over  to  forest-life 
(e.  e.,  to  lust),  and  who,  when  removed  from  tlie  for- 
est (i.  g.,  from  lust),  runs  to  the  forest  (i.  <?.,  to  lust), 
look  at  that  man  !  though  free,  he  runs  into  bondage. 

345. 

Wise  people  do  not  call  that  a  strong  fetter  which 
is  made  of  iron,  wood  or  hemp  ;  far  stroni^er  is  the 
care  for  precious  stones  and  rings,  for  sons  and  a  wife. 

346. 
That  fetter  do  wise  people  call  strong  which  drags 
down,  yields,  but  is  difficult  to  undo  ;  after  having  cut 
this  at  last,  people  enter  upon  their  pilgrimage,  free 
from  cares,  and  leaving  desires  and  pleasures  behind. 

347. 
Those  who  are  slaves  to  passions,  run  up  and  down 
the  stream  (of  desires)  as  a  sf)ider  runs  up  and  down 
the  web  which  he  has  made  himself;  when  they  have 
cut  this,  people  enter  upon  their  pilgrimage,  free  from 
cares,  leaving  desires  and  pleasures  behind. 

(344  )  This  verse  seems  again  full  of  puns,  all  connected  with  the 
twofold  meaning  of  "vana,"  forest  and  lust.  By  replacing  "  forest" 
by  '*  lust,"  we  may  translate :  "  He  who,  when  free  from  lust,  gives 
himself  up  to  lust,  who,  when  removed  from  lust  runs  into  lust,  look 
at  that  man,"  etc.  "  Nil)bana,"  though  with  a  short  a,  may  be  in- 
tended to  remind  the  hearer  of  Nihbana. 

(345.)  "  Apekh;\,  apeksh*!,"  care  ;  see  Manu,  vi.  41,  49. 

(346.)  '•Paribbar/,"  i.  e.  "parivra^;  "  see  Manu,  vi.  41. 

(347.)  The  commentator  explains  the  simile  of  the  spider  as  fo] 


OR   "PATH   OF  VIRTUE.'*  285 

348. 
Give   up  what   is  before,  give  up  what  is  behind, 
give  up  what  is  in  the  middle,  when  thou  goest  to  the 
other  shore  of  existence  ;    if  tliy  mind  is    altogether 
free,  thou  wilt  not  again  enter  into  birth  and  decay. 

349. 

If  a  man  is  tossed  about  by  doubts,  full  of  strong 
passi(ms,  and  yearning  only  for  what  is  delightful, 
his  thirst  will  grow  more  and  more,  and  he  will  in- 
deed make  his  fetters  strong. 

350. 

If  a  man  delights  in  quieting  doubts,  and,  always 
reflecting,  dwells  on  what  is  not  dt4ightful,  he  cer- 
tainly will   remove,  nay,  he    will   cut    the   fetter   of 

Mara. 

351. 

He  who  has  obtained  rest,  who  does  not  tremble, 

who    is  without    thirst    and  without    blemish,  he   has 

broken  all  the  thorns  of  life  :  this  will  be  his  last  body. 

352. 
He  who  is  without  thirst  and  without  affection,  who 
understands  the  words  and  their  interpretation,  who 
knows  the  order  of  letters  (those  which  are  before  and 
which  are  after),  he  has  received  his  last  body,  he  is 
called  the  great  sage,  the  great  man. 

lows  •  "  As  a  spider,  after  having  made  its  thread-web,  sits  in  the  mid- 
dle or  the  centre,  and  after  killin-  with  a  violent  rush  a  bnttcrfly  or  a 
fly  which  has  fallen  in  its  circle,  drinks  its  juice,  returns,  and  sits  again 
in  the  same  place,  in  the  same  manner  creatures  who  are  given  to  pas- 
sions, depraved  by  hatred,  and  m  vd.lened  by  wrath,  run  along  the 
stream  of  thirst  which  they  have  made  themselves,  and  cannot  cross 


it."  etc 


(352.)  As  to  "  Nirutti,"  and  its  technical  meaning  among  the  Bud- 


286  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

353. 
"  I  have  conquered  all,  I  know  all,  in  all  conditions 
of  life    I  am    free    from  taint ;    I   have    left   all,    and 
through  the  destruction  of  thirst    I  am    free  ;  having 
learnt  myself,  whom  shall  I  teach  ?  " 

354. 
The  gift  of  the  law  exceeds  all  gifts  ;  the  sweetness 
of  the  law  exceeds  all  sweetness  ;  the  delight  in  the 
law  exceeds  all  delights  ;  the  extinction  of  thirst  over- 
comes all  pain. 

355. 

Pleasures  destroy  the  foolish,  if  they  look  not  for 
the  otlier  shore  ;  the  foolish  by  his  thirst  for  pleasures 
destroys  himself,  as  if  he  were  his  own  enemy. 

356. 
The  fields  are  damaged  by  weeds ;  mankind  is  dam- 
aged by  passion  :  therefore  a  gift  bestowed  on  the  pas- 
sionless brings  great  reward. 

357. 
The  fields  are  damaged  by  weeds,  mankind  is  dam- 
aged by  hatred :  therefore  a  gift  bestowed  on    those 
who  do  not  hate  brings  great  reward. 

dhists,  see  Bumouf,  Lotus,  p.  841.  Fausboll  translates  "niruttis 
vocabuloriim  peritus,"  which  maybe  right.  Could  not  "  sannipata" 
mean  "sa/«hita"or  "  sannikarsha "  1  "Sannipcita"  occurs  in  the 
iSSkala-prUi.sakhya,  but  with  a  different  meaning. 

(354.)  The  "  dhammadana,"  or  gift  of  the  law,  is  the  technical 
term  for  instruction  in  the  Buddhist  religion.  See  Parables,  p,  160, 
"where  the  story  of  the  "  Sakkadevara^a "  is  told,  and  where  a  free 
rendering  of  our  verse  is  given. 


OR   "  PATH   OF  VIRTUE."  287 

358. 
The  fields  are  damaged  by  weeds,  mankind  is  dam- 
aged by  vanity:  therefore  a  gift  bestowed  on    those 
who  are  free  from  vanity  brings  great  reward. 

359. 
The  fields  are  damaged  by  weeds,  mankind  is  dam- 
aged by  wishing :  therefore  a  gift  bestowed  on  those 
who  are  free  from  wishes  brings  great  reward. 


288  BUDDHA'S   DHAMMAPADA, 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

THE    BHIKSHU    (meNDICANT). 

360. 

RESTRAINT  in  the  eye  is  good,  good  is  restraint 
in  the  ear,  in  the  nose  restraint  is  good,  good 
is  restraint  in  the  tongue. 

361. 

In  the  body  restraint  is  good,  good  is  restraint  in 
speech,  in  tliought  restraint  is  good,  good  is  restraint 
in  all  things.  A  Bhikshu,  restrained  in  all  things,  is 
freed  from  all  pain. 

362. 

He  who  controls  his  hand,  he  who  controls  his  feet, 
he  who  controls  his  speech,  he  who  is  well  controlled, 
he  who  delights  inwardly,  who  is  collected,  who  is  sol- 
itary and  content,  him  they  call  Bhikshu. 

(362.)  "  A_9^Aattarata,"  i.  c,  "  adhyatmarata,"  is  an  expression 
which  we  may  take  in  its  natural  sense,  in  which  case  it  would 
simply  mean,  delightinj?  inwardly.  But  "adhyatmarata"  has  a 
technical  sense  in  Sanskrit  and  with  the  Brahmans.  They  use  it  in 
the  sense  of  delighting  in  the  Adhyatman.  i.  e.,the  Supreme  Self,  or 
Brahman  See  Manu,  vi.  49,  and  Kulluka's  commentary.  As  the 
Buddhists  do  not  recognize  a  Supreme  Self  or  Brahman,  they  cannot 
use  the  word  in  its  Brahmanical  sense,  and  thus  we  find  that  Bud. 
dhaghosha  explains  it  as  "  delighting  in  meditation  on  the  Kammas- 
thana,  a  Buddhist  formulary,  whether  externally  or  internally."  I  am 
not  certain  of  the  exact  meaning  of  Buddhaghosha's  words,  but  what- 
ever they  mean,  it  is  quite  clear  that  he  does  not  take  "  adhyatmarata" 
in  the  Brahmanical  sense.     The  question  then  arises  who   used  the 


OR   ''PATH   OF  VIRTUE."  289 

363. 
The  Bbikslm   wlio  controls  his  mouth,   who  speaks 
wisely  and  calmly,    wlio  teaches  the  meaning  and  the 
Law,  his  word  is  sweet. 

364. 
He  who   dwells  in  the    Law,  delights   in   the    Law, 
meditates  on  the  Law,  follows  the  Law,  that  Bhikshu 
will  never  fall  away  from  the  true  Law. 

365. 

Let  him  not  despise  what  he  has  received,  nor  ever 
envy  others:  a  mendicant  who  envies  others  does  not 
obtain  peace  of  mind. 

366. 

A  Bhikshu  who,  thouo^h  he  receives  little,  does  not 
despise,  wliat  he  has  received,  even  the  gods  will 
praise  him,  if  his  life  is  pure,  and  if  he  is  not  slothful. 

367. 
He  who  never  identifies   himself  with  his  body  and 

term  first,  and  who  borrowed  it,  and  here  it  would  seem,  considering 
the  intelligible  growth  of  the  word  in  the  philosophical  systems  of 
the  Brahmans,  that  the  priority  belongs  for  once  to  the  Brahmans. 

(363.)  On  "artha"  and  "  dharma,"  see  Stanislas  Jiilien,  Les 
Avaddnns,  i.  217,  note:  "Les  quatre  connaissances  sont ;  I'' la  con- 
naissance  du  sens  (artha)  ;  2°  la  connaissance  de  la  Loi  (dharma) ;  3o 
la  connaissance  des  explications  (niroukti) ;  4'  la  connaissance  de 
I'intelligence  (pratibhana).  " 

(364.)  The  expression  "dhammaramo,"  having  his  garden  or 
delight  (Lustgarten)  in  the  Law,  is  well  matched  by  the  Brahmanic 
expression  "  ekftrAma,"  i.  e.,  "  nirdvandva."     Mahabh.  xiii.  1930. 

(367.)  "Namarfjpa"  is  here  used  again  in  its  technical  sense  of 
body  and  soul,  neither  of  which  is  "fitman,"  or  self.  "  Asat,"  what 
is  not,  may  therefore  mean  the  same  as  "  n-'imardpa,"  or  we  may  take 
it  in  the  sense  of  what  is  no  more,  as,  for  instance,  the  beauty  or  youth 
of  the  body,  the  vigor  of  the  mind,  etc. 
I'J 


290  Buddha's  dhammapada, 

soul,  and  does  not  grieve  over  what  is  no  more,  he  in- 
deed is  called  a  Bhikshu. 

368. 
The  Bhikshu  who  acts  with  kindness,  who  is  calm 
in  the  doctrine  of  Buddha,  will  reach  the  quiet  place 
(Nirvawa),  cessation  of  natural  desires,  and  happiness. 

369. 
O  Bhikshu,  empty  this  boat !  if  emptied,  it  will  go 
quickly  ;  having  cut  off  passion  and  hatred,  thou  wilt 
go  to  Nirvana. 

370. 
Cut  off  the  five  (senses),  leave  the  five,  rise  above 
the  five?     A  Bhikshu,  who  has  escaped  from  tlie  five 
fetters,  he  is  called  Oghati?ma,  "  Saved  from  the  flood." 

371. 

Meditate,  O  Bhikshu,  and  be  not  heedless !  Do 
not  direct  thy  thought  to  what  gives  pleasure  !  that 
thou  mayest  not  for  thy  heedlessness  have  to  swallow 
the  iron  ball  (in  hell),  and  that  thou  mayest  not  cry 
out  when  burning,  *'  This  is  pain." 

372. 
Without  knowledge  there  is  no  meditation,  without 
meditation  there  is  no  knowledo;e :  he  who  has  knowl- 
edge  and  meditation  is  near  unto  NirvS.^a. 

(371.)  The  swallowing  of  hot  iron  balls  is  considered  as  a  punish- 
ment in  hell ;  see  v.  308.  Professor  Weber  has  perceived  the  right 
meaning  of  '*  bhavassu,"  which  can  only  be  "  bhavayasva,"  but  I 
doubt  whether  the  rest  of  his  rendering  is  right,  "  Do  not  swallow  by 
accident  an  iron  ball." 


OR   "PATH   OF   VIRTUE."  291 

373. 
A  Bhiksliu  who  has  entered  his  empty  house,  and 
whose  mind  is  tranquil,  feels  a  more  than  human  de- 
h'ght  when  he  sees  tlie  law  clearly. 

374. 
As  soon  as  he  has  considered  the  origin  and  destruc- 
tion of  the  elements  (khandha)  of  the  body,  he  finds 
happiness  and  joy  which  belong  to   those   who  know 
the  immortal  (Nirvana). 

375. 
And  this  is  the  beginning  here  for  a  wise  Bhikshu: 
w^atchfulness  over  the  senses,  contentedness,  restraint 
under  the  Law ;  keep  noble  friends  whose  life  is  pure, 
and  who  are  not  slothful.  • 

376. 
Let  him  live   in  charity,  let  him  be  perfect  in  his 
duties ;  then  in  the  fullness  of  delight  he  will  make  an 
end  of  suffering. 

377. 
As  the  Vassik^-plant  sheds  its  withered  flowers,  men 
should  shed  passion  and  hatred,  O  ye  Bhikshus  !  , 

378. 
The  Bhikshu  whose  body  and  tongue  and  mind  are 
quieted,  who  is  collected,  and  has  rejected  the  baits  of 
the  world,  he  is  called  Quiet. 

379. 
Rouse  thyself  by  thyself,  examine  thyself  by  thy- 
self,   thus    self-protected  and  attentive  wilt  thou  live 
happily,  O  Bhikshu ! 


292  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

380. 
For  selF  is  the  lord  of  self,  self  is  the  refuore  of  self, 
therefore  curb  thyself  as  the   merchant  curbs  a  good 

horse. 

381. 

The  Bhikshu,  full  of  deliijht,  who  is  calm  in  the 
doctrine  of  Buddha  will  reach  the  quiet  place  (Nir- 
vaTia),  cessation  of  natural  desires  and  happiness. 

382. 
He  who,  even  as  a  young  Bhikshu,  appHes  himself 
to  the  doctrine  of  Buddha,  brightens  up  this  world, 
like  the  moon  when  free  from  clouds. 

(381.)  See  verse  368. 


on 


a 


PATH  OF  VIRTUE."  293 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE    BRAHMA.VA. 
883. 

STOP  the  stream  valiantly,  drive  away  tlie  desires, 
O  Brahmawa!  When  you  have  understood  the 
destruction  of  all  that  was  made,  you  v^^ili  understand 
that  which  was  not  made. 

384. 
If  the  Brahmawa   has  reached  the    other  shore    in 
both  laws  (in  restraint  and  contemplation),  all  bonds 
vanish  from  him  who  has  obtained  knowledge. 

385. 
He  for  whom  there  is  neither  this  nor  that  shore, 
nor  both,  him,  the  fearless  and  unshackled,  I  call  in- 
deed a  Brahmawa. 

386. 

He  who  is  thoughtful,  blameless,  settled,  dutiful, 
without  passions,  and  who  has  attained  the  highest 
end,  him  I  call  indeed  a  Biahmawa. 

387. 
The  sun  is  bright  by  day,  the  moon  shines  by  night, 
the   warrior  is   bright   in  his  armor,  the  Brahma?2a  is 

(385.)  The  exact  meaning  of  the  two  shores  is  not  qnite  clear  and 
the  commentator  who  takes  them  in  the  sense  of  internal  and  external 
organs  of  sense,  can  hardly  be  right.     See  v.  86. 


294 

bright  in  his  meditation  ;  but  Buddha,  the  Awakened, 
is  bright  with  splendor  day  and  night. 

388. 
Because  a  man  is  rid  of  evil,  therefore  he  is  called 
Brahmana  ;  because  he  walks  quietly,  therefore  he  is 
called  A^ramana ;  because  he  has  sent  away  his  own  im- 
purities, therefore  he  is  called  Pravra^ita  (a  pilgrim). 

389. 
No  one  should  attack  a  Brahmana,  but  no  Brahmawa 
(if  attacked)  should  let  himself  fly  at  his  aggressor ! 
Woe  to  him  who  strikes  a  Brahmana,  more  woe   to 
him  who  flies  at  his  aorcrressor  ! 

390. 
It  advantages  a  Brahmana  not  a  little  if  he  holds  his 
mind  back  from  the  pleasures  of  life  ;  when  all  wish  to 
injure  has  vanished,  pain  will  cease. 

391. 
Him  I  call  indeed  a  Brahmana  who  does  not  offend 
by  body,  word,  or  thought,  and  is  controlled  on  these 
three  points. 

(388.)  These  would-be  etymologies  are  again  interesting  as  showing 
the  decline  of  the  etymological  life  of  the  spoken  language  of  India  at 
the  time  when  such  etymologies  became  possible.  In  order  to  derive 
"  Brahmana  "  from  "vah,"  it  must  have  been  pronounced  "  bnhma- 
no  ;  "  "  vah,"  to  remove,  occurs  frequently  in  the  Buddhistical  Sanskrit. 
Cf.  Lalita-vistara,  p.  551,  1,  1  ;  553,  1.  7.     See  note  to  verse  265. 

(390.)  I  am  afraid  I  have  taken  too  much  liberty  with  this  verse. 
Dr.  FausboU  translates  :  "  Non  Brahmanse  hoc  paulo  melius,  quando 
retentio  fit  mentis  a  jucundis."  In  the  second  verse  he  translates 
"  himsama/io,"  or  "  himsamano,"  by  "  violenta  mens  ;  "  Dr.  Weber  by 
"  der  Geist  der  Schadsucht."  Might  it  be  "  himsyamanaA,"  injured, 
and  "  nivattati,"  he  is  quiet,  patient  1  "  AhimsimanaA  "  would  be, with 
the  Buddhists,  the  spirit  of  love.     Luke  xi.  39. 


OR   "  PATH  OF  VIRTUE."  295 

392. 
After  a  man  has  once  understood  the  Law  as  taught 
by  the  Well-awakened  (Buddha),  let  him  worship  it 
carefully,  as  the  Brahmana  worships  the  sacrificial  fire. 

393. 
A  man  does  not  become  a  Brahmana  by  his  platted 
hair,  by  his  family,  or  by  both  ;  in  whom  there  is  truth 
and  righteousness,  he  is  blessed,  he  is  a  Brahmana. 

394. 
What  is  the  use   of  platted  hair,  O  fool !  what  of 
the  raiment  of  goatskins  ?     Within  thee  there  is  raven- 
ing, but  the  outside  thou  makest  clean. 

395. 
The   man   who  wears  dirty  raiments,  who  is  ema- 
ciated and  covered  with  veins,  who  lives  alone  in  the 
forest,   and  meditates,  him  I  call  indeed  a  Brahmana. 

396. 
I  do  not  call  a  man  a  Brahmana  because  of  his  ori- 
gin or  of  his  mother.     He  may  be  called  "  Sir,"  and 
may  be  wealthy :  but  the  poor,  who  is  free  from  all 
attachments,  him  I  call  indeed  a  Brahmana. 

397. 
He  who  has  cut  all  fetters,  and  who  never  trembles, 

(394.)  I  have  not  copied  the  language  of  the  Bible  more  than  I  was 
justified  in.  The  words  are  "  abbhantaran  te  gahanam,  bahiram  pari- 
ma^.^asi,"  interna  est  abyssus,  externum  mundas. 

(395.)  The  expression  "Kisan  dhamanisanthatam,"  is  the  Sanskrit 
''krisam  dhamanisantatara,"  the  frequent  occurrence  of  which  in  the 
Mah&bharata  has  been  pointed  out  by  Boehtlingk,  s.  v.  dhamani.  It 
looks  more  like  a  Brahmanic  than  like  a  Buddhist  phi-ase. 


296  BUDDHA'S  DHAMMAPADA, 

he  who  is  independent  and  unshackled,  him  I  call  in- 
deed a  Bralima/ia. 

398. 

He  wlio  has  cut  the  girdle  and  the  strap,  the  rope 
with  all  that  pertains  to  it,  he  who  has  burst  the  bar, 
and  is  awakened,  him  I  call  indeed  a  Brahmawa. 

399. 
He  who,  though  he  has  committed  no  offense,  en- 
dures reproach,  bonds,  and  stripes,  him,  strong  in  en- 
durance and  powerful,  I  call  indeed  a  Brahmawa. 

400. 
He  who  is  free  from  anger,  dutiful,  virtuous,  without 
weakness,  and  subdued,  who  has  received  his  last  body, 
him  I  call  indeed  a  Brahmana. 

401. 
He  who  does  not  cling  to  pleasures,  like  water  on  a 
lotus  leaf,  like  a  mustard  seed  on  the   point  of  an  awl, 
him  I  call  indeed  a  Brahma/ia. 

402. 
He  who,  even  here,  knows  the   end  of  his  suffer- 
ing, has  put  down  his  burden,  and  is  unshackled,  him 
I  call  indeed  a  Brahmana. 

403. 
He  whose  knowledge  is  deep,  who  possesses  wisdom, 
who  knows  the  right  way  and    the  wrong,  who  has 

(399.)  The  exact  meaning  of  "balanika  "  is  difficult  to  find.  Does 
it  mean,  possessed  of  a  strong  army,  or  facing  a  force,  or  leading  a 
force  ?     The  commentary  alone  could  help  us  to  decide. 


OR  "PATH  OF   VIRTUE."  297 

attained  the   highest  end,  him  I  call  indeed   a  Brah- 

mana. 

404. 

He  who  keeps  aloof  boih  from  laymen  and  from 
mendicants,  goes  to  no  house  to  beg,  and  whose  de- 
sires are  small,  him  I  call  indeed  a  Brahma^ia. 

405. 
He  who  finds  no  fault  with  other  beings,  whether 
weak  or  strong,  who  does  not  kill  nor  cause  slaughter, 
him  I  call  indeed  a  Brahmana. 

406. 
He  who  is  tolerant   with  the  intolerant,  mild  with 
fault-finders,  free  from  passion  among  the  passionate, 
him  I  call  indeed  a  Brahma^ia. 

407. 
He  from  whom  anger  and  hatred,  pride  and  envy 
have  dropt  like  a  mustard  seed  from  the  point  of  an 
awl,  him  I  call  indeed  a  Brahmawa. 

408. 
He  who  utters  true  speech,  instructive  and  free  from 
harshness,  so  that  he  offend  no  one,  him  I  call  indeed 
a  Brahmarza. 

(404.)  "  AnokasAri"  is  translated  by  Dr.  Fausboll  "sine  domicilio 
grassantem  ;  "  by  Dr.  Weber,  "  ohne  Heim  wandelt  "  The  commen- 
tator seems  to  support  my  translation.  He  says  that  a  man  who  has 
no  intercourse  either  with  householders  or  with  those  who  have  left 
their  houses,  but  may  still  dwell  together  in  retirement  from  the 
world,  is  "an■llaya^'ara,"  i.  e.,  a  man  who  goes  to  nobody's  abode,  in 
order  to  see,  to  hear,  to  talk,  or  to  eat.  He  then  explains  "  anokasarin^" 
by  the  same  word,  "  analayaMrin,"  i.  e.,  a  man  who  goes  to  nobody's 
residence  for  any  purpose,  —  and  in  our  case,  I  suppose,  principally 
not  for  the  purpose  of  begging. 


298  Buddha's  dhammapada, 

409. 
He  wlio  takes  notliing  in  the  world  tliat  is  not  given 
him,  be  it  long  or  short,  small  or  large,  good  or  bad, 
him  I  call  indeed  a  Brahma^ia. 

410. 
He  who  fosters  no  desires  for  this  woi-ld  or  for  the 
next,  has  no  inclinations,  and    is    unshackled,  him  I 
call  indeed  a  Brahmawa. 

411. 
He  who  has  no  interests,  and  when  he  has  under- 
stood (the  truth),  does  not  say  How,  how  ?  —  he  who 
can  dive  into  the  Immortal,  him  I  call  indeed  a  Brah- 

412. 
He  who  is  above  good  and  evil,  above  the  bondage 
of  both,  free  from  grief,  from  sin,  from  impurity,  him 
I  call  indeed  a  Brahmawa. 

418. 
He  who  is  bright  like  the  moon,  pure,  serene,  and 
undisturbed,  in  whom  all  gayety  is  extinct,  him  I  call 
indeed  a  Brahmana. 

(411.)  *' Akathawkathi "  is  explained  by  Buddhaghosha  as  mean- 
ing, free  from  doubt  or  hesitation.  He  also  uses  "  katha?«kathfi  " 
in  the  sense  of  doubt  (verse  414).  In  the  Kdvi/adarsa,  iii.  17,  the 
commentator  e?vplains  "  akatham  "  by  "  katharahitam,  nirvivadam," 
which  would  mean,  without  a  "  katha,"  a  speech,  a  story  without 
contradiction,  unconditionally.  From  our  passage,  however,  it  seems 
as  if  "  kathawkatha  "  was  a  noun  derived  from  "  kathamthayati,"  to 
say  How,  how  ?  so  that  neither  the  first  nor  the  secoml  element  had 
anything  to  do  with  "  kath,"  to  relate  ;  and  in  that  case  "  akatham," 
too,  ought  to  be  taken  in  the  sense  of  "  without  a  Why." 

(412.)  See  verse  39.  The  distinction  between  good  and  evil 
vanishes  when  a  man  has  retired  from  the  world,  and  has  ceased 
to  act,  longing  only  for  deliverance. 


OR   "PATH   OF   VIRTUE."  299 

414. 
He  who  has  traversed  tliis  mazy,  impervious  world 
and  its  vanity,  vvho  is  through,  and  has  reached  the 
other  shore,  is  tlioughtful,  guileless,  free  from  d(mhts, 
free  from  attachment,  and  content,  him  I  call  indeed 
a  Brahmana. 

415. 

He  who,  leaving  all  desires,  travels  about  without  a 
home,  in  whom  all  concupiscence  is  extinct,  him  I  call 
indeed  a  Brahmawa. 

416. 

He  who,  leaving  all  longings,  travels  about  without 
a  home,  in  wliom  all  covetousness  is  extinct,  him  I 
call  indeed  a  Brahmana. 

417. 

He  who,  after  leaving  all  bondage  to  men,  has  risen 
above  all  bondage  to  the  gods,  who  is  free  from  every 
bondage,  him  I  call  indeed  a  Brahmana. 

418. 
He  who  has  left  what  gives  pleasure  and  what  gives 
pain,  is    cold,  and    free   from   all    germs  (of  renewed 
life),  the  hero  who  has  conquered  all  the  worlds,  him 
I  call  indeed  a  Brahmawa. 

419. 
He  who  knows  the  destruction  and  the  return  of 
creatures  everywhere,  who  is  free  from  bondage,  wel- 
farlng  (Sngata),  and  awakened  (Buddha),  him  I  call 
indeed  a  Biahmana. 

420. 

He  whose  way  the  gods  do  not  know,  nor  spirits 


300 

(Gandharvas),  nor  men,  and  whose  passions  are  ex- 
tinct, him,  the  venerable,  I  call  indeed  a  Brahmawa. 

421. 

He  who  calls  nothing  his  own,  whether  it  be  before, 
behind,  or  between,  who  is  poor,  and  free  from  the 
love  of  the  world,  him  I  call  indeed  a  Brahmawa. 

422. 
The  manly,  the  noble,  the  hero,  the  great  sage,  the 
conqueror,  the  guileless,  the    master,  the    awakened, 
him  I  call  indeed  a  Brahmawa. 

423. 
He  who  knows  his  former  abodes,  who  sees  heaven 
and  hell,  has  reached  the  end  of  births,  is  perfect  in 
knowledge  and  a  sage,   he  whose  perfections  are  all 
perfect,  him  I  call  indeed  a  Brahma/ia. 


Date  Due 

<i  - 1  '^ 

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f 

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